


All Good Things

by Queen_B



Series: Turtle Universe [3]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Babies, Children of Characters, Daddy Donatello, Daddy Leonardo, Domestic Fluff, Drama, Family, Mommy Michelangelo, Mpreg, Multi, Post Mpreg, Protective Leonardo (TMNT), Protective Raphael (TMNT), Turtle Tots (TMNT), Turtle Universe, Turtlecest (TMNT), blast from the past, daddy raphael, parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2020-01-06 04:56:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18381401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_B/pseuds/Queen_B
Summary: Sequel to Joys of Parenthood.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is set about 5 years after Joys of Parenthood.

* * *

 

 

“Mom! Cav took my book again!”

 

“Mom! Nix won't let me play with him!”

 

“Mom! Have you seen my homework?”

 

Mikey let out a sigh as he glared at the ceiling from setting the table. It was seven am, for shell's sake.

 

Donatello chuckled from where he was sipping his coffee, amusement glinting in his eyes as he looked at his younger mate.

 

“Do you think they know that they have three other parents? Two of them just in the bathroom up there?”

 

Several feet trampled down the stairs, accompanied by banter. Amy had her astronomy book clutched to her chest, glaring at Cav, who followed her with a pout on his face.

His twin sister was right next to him, her face a mixture between a pout and a glare.

 

“Mom, tell Cav he can't take my stuff!”

 

“I just wanted to look at the pictures! You know I can't read yet!”

 

“What happened to your own astronomy book, Cavansite?” Don asked, setting his cup on the table.

 

The five-year-old climbed a chair and folded his arms on the table. “Ava colored all the stars!”

 

Aventurine gasped on her chair next to him, acting insulted. “Did not!”

 

“Did too!”

 

“Did not!”

 

“Come on, why don't we just-” Don blinked as the twins just ignored him and kept arguing.

Amy rolled his eyes and thumbed through her book to make sure there was no paint from her little sister.

 

“Did too!”

 

“Did not!”

 

“Enough you two.” As if Mikey's voice held magical powers the twins stopped, though they kept glaring at each other.

“Aventurine, I told you a hundred times to not paint your siblings' stuff. You have your own drawing supplies.”

 

“But mom, my books are already full...” she pouted.

 

“Then you come to me and we can buy you new ones. No more painting in your brother's books, alright?” The girl nodded obediently, purring when Mikey patted her head.

 

“And Cav, you know you shouldn't take Amy's stuff without asking first.”

Cavansite hunched up his shoulders and ducked his head.

 

“I know, mom. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry, Amy.”

 

The seven-year-old rolled her eyes, but returned the hug her little brother forced on her. “It's alright. Do you want me to show you a few constellations?”

 

Cav gasped and nodded happily, midnight blue eyes wide as he soaked up everything his big sister told him.

 

Donatello shook his head, leaning back in his chair as he eyed Mikey with a sideways smirk.

“And you wonder why they always ask for you...”

 

“If you were home more you'd know how to handle them.” Mike stuck out his tongue to the genius, earning giggles from Ava.

 

“Hey, you said you were fine if we went to work.”

 

“I _am_ fine.” he simply said, putting down a large pan of fried eggs in the middle of the table.

“Is it so hard to be on time for breakfast?” he mumbled to himself as he trotted over to the stairs.

 

“Food's getting cold! You have two minutes before I eat your lunch-cake myself!”

 

The turtles at the table were quiet as they listened to the trampling from upstairs, the rest of their family hurrying down the stairs.

 

“Hey, that's cheating!” Nix complained when Ky simply slid down the railing.

 

“It's not!” Ky giggled as he slid into his seat seconds before Nix did.

 

“Raph! _That's_ cheating!”

 

The hotheads laughter was indeed proof that he had cheated in their race down, but a curse later Leo entered the kitchen first, a smug smirk on his face.

 

“Mom! Dad said a bad word!”

 

“Traitor...” Raph mumbled as he came in, rubbing his shoulder.

 

“Don't worry, Avy, dad's gonna get his punishment when you're all in school and work.”

 

After breakfast, Mikey handed each of them their schoolbag by the door, filled with their supplies for the day and their lunch, along with a small piece of cake as a dessert.

Leo and Donnie would drop them off by the (pre-)school before heading to the city hall for work.

 

Each of them got their bag and a kiss on the forehead, somehow none of them making a fuss of being “too old” for that. Well, he wasn't doing it in public.

 

“Thanks, mom! Bye, dad!”

 

Leo smirked when he was the next in line. He took his bag and pursed his lips.

Mikey chuckled and pulled him down by the cheeks, pressing a sloppy kiss to his lips. A hand squeezing his butt had him squeaking, and Leo used the opportunity to slip his tongue inside.

 

“Ew!” Leonardo rolled his eyes and released Mikey with a playfully suffering sigh.

 

“Come on fafa, we're gonna be late!”

 

“Yes, I'm coming.”

 

Donnie slipped between them, face flushed as a new hickey had mysteriously appeared on his neck. He grinned as he pecked Mike's lips and took his bag, before grabbing Leo's hand and dragging him along to where their kids were waiting.

 

“Don't forget dad's punishment!”

 

Letting out a huff of air, Mikey closed the door behind them and turned around to look at Raph.

 

“Did you _have_ to give him a hickey right before work?”

 

Raphael smirked and stepped closer, trapping Mikey between his body and the door.

 

“Jealous?”

 

“Eh, not really.” Mikey teased and slipped away. He laughed when Raph pulled him back so his shell was up against the alpha's strong chest.

 

A soft churr escaped him as the hot mouth began to caress the sensitive skin on his neck.

 

“Ngh, stop. I have to clean up and then I was gonna visit Kion.”

 

“I'm sure Kion won't mind you coming over a little later...”

 

“Well, I need to punish you anyways, so hands off.” Mikey chuckled as he freed himself.

 

“... you're not serious, are ya?”

 

“You heard our daughter.”

 

“Tch. What happened to our sweet little kids?” Raph lamented as he followed his younger mate to the kitchen and helped him clean up.

“It feels like it was just yesterday when they called me daddy and wanted me to play blocks with them.”

 

“They're growing older, Raph. You knew they wouldn't stay cute little babies forever.”

 

“I knoooow...”

 

Mikey kept his mouth shut as he washed the dishes. By now he knew where this was leading to.

 

Raphael dried the dishes quietly for a while. Mike mentally counted down in his head. 5... 4... 3... 2...

 

“We could-”

 

“No.”

 

“Baby, it's been over five years, we-”

 

“No.”

 

Raph made a frustrated noise, scrubbing the cutlery a little harder than necessary.

 

“You don't have to be so stubborn about it. It's not like I'm forcing you or anything.” He mumbled.

 

Mikey sighed. “Raph... don't you think five kids are more than enough? Like seriously?”

 

“We're gonna live a very long time, Mike. Another blink and they're all grown-up and have their own families...”

 

“They're seven and five, Cav and Ava _just_ started pre-school.”

 

“My point is that they grow so fast, and I definitely want to have another baby.”

 

“Like I said, they just started pre-school. And I'm not saying that we won't have another baby ever again... just not now.”

 

“You said that last year too...” Raph pouted, but Mikey knew the argument was over.

He smiled, drying his hands and wrapping them around the muscular neck.

 

“How about we go upstairs?”

 

Noting the change of tone, Raph began to thaw, but refused to give in so easily.

 

“I don't know. What about my 'punishment'?”

 

Mikey smirked, fingertips tracing invisible patterns on the dark green skin.

 

“Mh, I won't tell if you don't...”

 

“You said you wanted to visit Kion...” Raph tilted his head to allow Mikey's questing tongue access to his neck.

 

“Kion can wait.”

 

The hot breath on his skin brought a churr rumbling through his chest, and with a smirk he began groping his mate.

 

 

~

 

 

Donatello's tongue was sticking out as he carefully worked on a new project.

In the past years he brought them security systems, AC's and plenty other stuff they've had in New York. One of the really great things was a version of the pill, so everyone could go into heat without having to worry about actually getting pregnant.

 

He's briefly thought about building motorized vehicles, but then he remembered all the horrible car accidents he's seen on TV and quickly decided against it. They did good without death machines.

 

Donnie looked up when a steaming cup of coffee was placed on his desk by a light green hand.

 

“Oh awesome, thanks Olon.” He smiled gratefully at the large turtle and took tiny sips from the hot beverage.

 

Olon had been part of the rebels, and after Leo had become the mayor he's shown to be quite in engineering talent. So it was natural that he got a job in Don's very own lab/shop in the City Hall's basement.

 

“No problem. What are you working on?” He asked, head tilted.

 

“Just a little private project.” Don shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “You know, like a magnifying glass, only a million times better.”

 

“But we already have microscopes...”

 

Don laughed. “Yes, but this is more for the outside use. You can look at the stars up close, and whatever else is up there.”

 

Olon's face lit up in understanding. He grinned and leaned against the desk.

“You're really obsessed with the stars lately, hm? Your lamp is almost done, by the way.”

 

Donnie blushed a little at the weirdness of the fond look he was receiving.

A few weeks after working together Don had already suspected that Olon was kinda crushing on him. He's tried to ignore the hints best he could, acting as oblivious as he could to the subtle flirting from the taller turtle.

 

Olon knew that he was in a happy relationship, that's probably why he's never made a direct move.

 

“Already? Wow, Nix is gonna freak out when I show him.”

 

As always when the other turtle got that admiring expression, Don started talking about his family, hoping Olon would get the hint.

The lamp he's been talking about was a special lamp that was supposed to project stars on the ceiling and walls.

 

“It's actually him with the obsession. Well, he likes _looking_ at them. Amy and Cav are interested in finding out more.” He smiled involuntarily at the thought of his children.

 

“Sounds like they take after you.”

 

“Uh kinda, yes. Though Nix is basically a second Leo with Raph's temper.” Growing a little embarrassed by the fond smile, he cleared his throat and fiddled with the cup in his hands.

“Ava is a devious mix between Raph and Mike. Artistic with a big dash of 'volcano'. And Ky's just like Mikey, minus the pranking. He's really fond of music and-”

 

“You're so cute when you ramble.” Olon chuckled.

 

“Uh well. I should get back to work...”

 

“It's almost lunch time. We could-”

 

“Actually, I've got a lunch date with Leo. You know, the mayor. One of my three mates.”

 

Getting the hint, Olon straightened and rubbed the back of his neck.

 

“Right. You know, I never really understood why someone would want to be in a mating pack. I'd die of jealousy.”

 

“We don't have a problem with that. We know how to share.” Don said nonchalantly and grabbed his lunch bag, smiling at the heart Mikey's drawn on it.

“However, we tend to get jealous when someone else tries to interfere.” He warned subtly. “Especially Leo and Raph.”

 

“But seriously, how do none of you feel left out? Like-”

 

“We manage just fine, Olon. We-”

 

“Hey babe.” Raphael's voice rang out a second before his muscular arms wrapped around Donatello from behind.

 

Don blinked and turned around in the embrace. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Nice to see you too.” Raph rolled his eyes. “Mikey went to visit Kion and forbade me to come along. I was bored.”

 

“To be fair, you would bug him nonstop about wanting another baby when you see Taro.”

 

“Hey, don't act like you don't want another kid too.”

 

“I said I wouldn't mind. I'm not as desperate as you.” Donnie teased and freed himself from Raph's arms to direct Olon, who's been standing there awkwardly during their conversation.

“I'll be back in an hour. Don't forget to check on the AC, it's making that clucking noises again.”

 

“Sure thing, boss.” Olon saluted before walking off to his own desk.

 

Not detecting anything suspicious, Raph put his arm around Don's shoulders as they made their way to Leo's office.

 

“But really, what's so wrong about having another baby _now_?”

 

Donatello couldn't help but laugh at his mate. “Raph, you just want a baby now because Kion had one.”

 

“So what? Lenara and the twins are the best of friends, why not give Taro a best friend too?”

 

“Now you're just being ridiculous.” Raph opened his mouth to protest, but Don continued speaking before he could.

“You have to see Mikey's side too. From the first time getting pregnant, up until this January, which is roughly seven to eight years, he's been at home. Always there for the kids, 24/7. If he gets pregnant now, it's another five years of being just 'Mommy' for him.”

 

“It's not like I'm not there too...” Raph mumbled with an adorable pout. “Shell, if he wants to work so badly he can after giving birth. I don't mind being alone with one or two babies.”

 

“Says the turtle who freaked out when he was alone for three hours with Cav and Ava.”

 

The embarrassed blush on the emerald skin was totally worth the playful pinch on his shoulder.

 

“They just vanished!”

 

“They couldn't even walk yet.”

 

“... I still don't get how they did that.”

 

“Ninja babies.” Don chuckled. “Or maybe you're just getting rusty.”

 

Raph stuck his tongue out childishly before pushing open the door to Leo's office.

 

The forest-green turtle leaned back in his chair when he saw them, stifling a yawn. “Hey.”

 

“Hey yourself.” Raph greeted him back, noting the exhausted look on his mate's face.

He came to stand behind Leo's chair and began kneading the tense shoulders and neck, smirking at the groan of pleasure.

 

“How's it going?” Donnie asked as he sat on Leo's desk and rummaged through his lunch bag for the cake that was meant for dessert.

 

“Ugh. Don't ask. I'll be so glad when this week's over.”

 

“Mh. Didn't you say you were taking a few weeks off when mating season starts?”

 

Leonardo nodded and accepted a bite of the cake Don offered him.

 

“Next wednesday it's gonna be just us and the kids. For at least three weeks.”

 

“You wanna go somewhere special? We still haven't visited the rabbits' city.”

 

“Honestly I'm looking forward to just be at home with my family and relax.”

 

“Oh, we'll make sure you relax properly.” Raph grinned and pressed a kiss to the crown of Leo's head.

 

 

~

 

 

“Aw, you're so cute...” Mikey cooed as he tickled little Taro's feet. The infant giggled, his fingers reaching for his own feet.

 

Kion had given birth to Taro last November, and just seeing the baby had brought the softy in Raph out again. That's why Mikey had forbidden him to come along that day. He seriously wasn't in the mood for another argument so soon.

 

“As long as he's not cranky, yes.” Kion chuckled, leaning back on the couch.

 

“Raph asked again today.” Mike rolled his eyes as he bounced Taro.

 

“Can you blame him? He saw begging worked for Bogen, so he thinks you'll give in too. Mating season's only a week away, after all.”

 

“I get that he's eager for another baby, but we just got our freedom back. At least until three pm.”

 

“Oh come on, you act as if it was so bad.”

 

“Hey, you have three kids now, I have _five_. What if I get triplets again? I'd die.”

 

Kion gave him a look. “You can't put him off forever.”

 

“... Did he tell you to persuade me?” Mikey asked with narrowed eyes.

 

“No!” Kion laughed. “Shell Mike, now you're just being crazy.”

 

Mikey raised an eyeridge.

 

“Okay fine, yes. I promised I would try.” The darker turtle shrugged, not sorry at all.

 

“I _was_ thinking about it, okay? I just... don't know.”

 

“Don't know what? If you want another kid?”

 

“If I want another kid _now_. Like I said, another set of triplets would be horror. And what if Raph starts begging for more again after a few years? I don't want to have twenty children!”

 

“Calm down, you don't know if you'll have multiples again.”

 

Michelangelo pouted, chuckling when Taro reached up for his lip.

 

“But what if?”

 

“Oh come on, _what if_? Seriously?” Kion rolled his eyes. “You have a high chance to get multiples now, and just as high a chance in ten years.”

 

“...”

 

The darker turtle huffed. “You know, it's not like he's asking you to cut off your tail.”

 

“It definitely feels like it when the baby comes.” Mike countered, stroking the infant's cheek with a finger.

 

“If you don't want a child, tell him.” Kion said.

 

“I wouldn't really mind. I just... ugh. I don't wanna be pressured into it. And Raph knows that. It's annoying that he still tries. As if he hasn't learned anything from the last time.” He shrugged.

“There's pros and cons, and it's pretty even so... I'm not sure I would mind.”

 

“If you really don't mind, why don't you let fate decide?”

 

“What do you mean?” Mike frowned at his friend.

 

“The candy Lenara is so crazy about looks just like the preservative pills...”

 

The sky blue eyes widened. “Are you suggesting what I think you are?”

 

Kion shrugged. “Why not? We take a pill and a piece of candy and mix them up. You pick one and swallow it without tasting. If fate decides it's time for another baby you'll know a few weeks after mating season.”

 

Michelangelo was quiet for a while, thinking the idea over.

“That could work I guess...”

 

“Great, then I'll tell Raph that I couldn't persuade you, and if you really get pregnant you get to surprise them big time.”

 

“How about you don't tell Raph anything? You're my best friend, not his.”

 

“Hey, he promised to clean up our basement if I tried, and I'm not gonna pass that up. Unless _you_ want to-”

 

“Nah. Take my mate for whatever you need.” Mike waved him off, tickling Taro again to hear that cute laugh, his own heart fluttering in both trepidation and excitement.

 

 

~

 

 

“So, how was school today?”

 

“I got a sticker for my drawing!” Aventurine grinned widely at dinner. “Miss Dana hung it up for everyone to see!”

 

“That's great sweetie.” Leo praised his youngest daughter with a smile.

 

“Miss Dana praised me for my good reading!”

 

“See, all that practicing really pays off.” Don proudly rubbed a hand over Cavansite's head.

 

Mikey's eyes narrowed when he saw the triplets exchanging looks. They were uncharacteristically quiet, too. His mommy-senses were tingling. As much as his mates teased him about it, he had to admit it was quite handy sometimes.

 

“What about you three?” He asked.

 

“Same as always.”

 

“Yep, completely boring.”

 

Ky just hunched his shoulders and speared some salad on his fork. Suspicions confirmed.

 

“Hm. Really. Ky? Nothing interesting to tell?”

 

Donnie, Leo and Raph caught on that something was wrong and stopped eating in favor of finding out what.

 

“Uhm. We... uh...”

 

“Kyanite, what happened?” Leonardo asked now, using the power of a full name.

 

“I promised not to tell!” He blurted out, ducking his head.

 

“Tell what?”

 

“Nothing!” Nix and Amy shouted at the same time.

 

“Seriously? What did you do?” Raph leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, Leo doing the same with a raised eyebrow.

 

Taking the challenge, Nix and Amy both mimicked the pose, glares on their faces.

 

It must've looked funny from the outside. The staring contest, with the rest of the family watching, waiting for whoever won the battle.

 

Mikey wasn't too worried. If it was something serious, their teacher would've called.

His mates should know that too, but this was more of a battle of stubbornness, one of the thousand they already had.

 

Oblivious to the tension, Cav swallowed the bite in his mouth and looked up at Donnie with wide eyes when he remembered something.

 

“Papa, today in lunch break a big boy tore Lenara's drawing!”

 

Amy's and Nix' eyes shifted to their little brother.

 

“Really? Did Miss Dana give him a time-out?”

 

“Nuh-uh. We told Nix and Amy and they pushed the boy into a puddle! But we had to promise not to tell... oops.”

 

“Cav!”

 

“I forgot! Sorry!”

 

Michelangelo really had to bite his lip to not laugh.

 

“Why didn't you get a teacher?” Don asked, also trying not to appear too amused.

 

“We didn't know if we should get Miss Dana or the boy's teacher!” Ava defended their decision. “So we got our big siblings!”

 

Leonardo rubbed a hand over his face to hide a smile.

 

“It doesn't matter which teacher you ask for help in cases like that.” He directed at the twins, who nodded obediently.

 

“And even if it was to defend your friend, you can't just push someone. Always ask a teacher for help.” Raph addressed Nix and Amy, who pouted at first but nodded. They were just glad they were not in more trouble.

 

Nix pushed the rest of his food around with his fork, a pout on his face.

“You said we should protect the ones we care about.” he mumbled.

 

“Yes, but not in school. You should use violence only as a last resort.”

 

Amy and Nix exchanged a look, both of them shrugging. They'd defend their friends or siblings again, they just had to make sure their little brother and sister would keep their mouths shut the next time.

 

Who else would protect the sweet little twin pair and their pacifist innocent older brother Ky?

 

 

~

 

 

A little while later, after the kids went to bed, the four adults were relaxing on their couch, some action movie running in the background.

 

“Kinda funny how you of all people tell them it's not okay to push people for hurting their friends and family.” Don spoke up out of the blue with a grin.

 

Raphael rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Well I can't tell them to punch them. They're just kids.”

 

“When Ky said some kid took his candy we had to hold you back from finding and punishing that kid.” Leo threw in with a snicker.

“No wonder they have that mentality.”

 

“Are ya seriously blaming me now for their protectiveness?”

 

“Blame is the wrong word... it's more like coming to a conclusion.”

 

“Hardy har. It's good that they look out for their friends and family. When they're in school they just have to hold back a little.”

 

“I'll remind you of that next time you freak out in public.”

 

Mikey only listened half-heartedly as he looked at the screen, not really paying attention to the movie.

 

During dinner a completely different thought had entered his mind. All the times Raph would ask for another baby, Mikey only ever thought about himself and his mates.

But... what would their children think of another sibling? They got along quite well as it was, but that could be because of the small age-gap.

 

The triplets would be eight when their new brother or sister, or God beware, both, would be born. That's quite a gap.

Add the typical sibling rivalry and you have your hands full with jealous children, on top of a crying baby.

 

Maybe he should ask them before he gave Kion's crazy plan a try. However, he'd have to do it without his mates around, and ask them to keep it a secret.

 

“Earth to Mikey, you still in there?”

 

Michelangelo blinked when Leo's hand waved in front of his eyes and shook his head with a chuckle.

 

“Yeah, just a little tired. It's been a long day.”

 

Leonardo smiled and nuzzled the freckled shoulder, kissing the skin lightly.

 

“Why don't we call it a day and get to bed. Raph promised he'd help me relax, I bet if we ask real nicely he's gonna do the same for you.”

 

Mikey laughed and squirmed away from the wet kisses that closed in on his neck. Yep, mating season was really coming closer.

 

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

 

 

Michelangelo couldn't believe his luck. Out of boredom, Raphael had announced that he would go to work with Bogen the next day.

 

That meant Mikey would be alone with the kids when they came home from school. Perfect opportunity to ask his children about the whole “maybe new sibling”-matter.

 

So he made pizza for them, done just in time when the front door opened. He heard them yell good-bye to Telon, who had picked them up today before piling inside.

The scent of freshly baked pizza drew them immediately into the kitchen.

 

“Yes! Pizza!”

 

“Aw mom, I thought we'd make pizza on saturday, I wanted to help...” Nix pouted, but grabbed a big slice nonetheless.

 

“You can help when I make some more for the rest of your parents later.”

 

Ava looked around curiously. “Where's dad?”

 

“Eh, your dad is playing cop with uncle Bogen today.”

 

“Does that mean no training today?” Ky asked with a small frown.

 

When they had turned six, Leo and Raph had started training them ninjutsu. It wasn't by far as much as they've been taught back then, but the two thought it was imperative they knew how to defend themselves. Just in case.

 

Kyanite quite enjoyed the workout, while the enthusiasm of his brother and sister was steadily lessening as they grew older and their hobbies were changing.

 

“Maybe fafa and dad will have a practice session with you after dinner.”

 

“Mom, when can I start practicing?” Aventurine asked after swallowing a big bite of pizza.

 

“I already told you, next year. First you and Cav learn to write.” Mikey explained patiently, watching his beloved children eat.

 

“Can we visit Lenara today? She said Taro misses us.” Michelangelo smiled at Cavansite and rubbed a hand over his head.

 

“I'll talk to uncle Kion, maybe we can visit on the weekend. But you're gonna see him for three whole days next week anyways.”

He bit his lip. “So... you like Taro, hm?” He directed the question at the whole table.

 

There was a bunch of nods and affirmative answers.

 

“He's so cute! With his tiny hands and feet!”

 

The reminder of the sweet little baby made Mike's heart melt too. Seriously not the time to let his hormones make the decisions.

 

“Would... would you like a baby brother or sister too?”

 

“Is it gonna be smelly like Taro?”

 

“As long as it can't use the potty I'm afraid so.” Mikey chuckled at Ava's comment.

 

“Elia said Taro is waking her up at night because he cries so much...” Nix frowned.

 

“Our house is big, if the baby's room is far enough away you wouldn't hear a thing.”

 

“Where is it gonna sit? Our table is full!”

 

“I'm sure we can get a bigger table. Well, _if_ we're gonna get a new family member.”

 

More questions like that followed, and in the end Mikey was even less sure than before.

It had sounded like kids wouldn't mind a new addition to their family. At the same time Mikey thought they didn't really completely grasp the whole concept.

 

Well, at least they wouldn't freak out and run away when he got pregnant. _If_ , Mikey corrected himself in his head, _If I get pregnant_.

 

Anyways, he would try out Kion's plan. That way he wouldn't be tempted to give in because of his stupid hormones, and could simply blame it on fate.

 

 

~

 

 

A loud groan of pleasure escaped Donatello as he climaxed, squeezing hard around Raph's thick cock in him, setting off the hothead's orgasm.

 

The muscled turtle pulled out of him and let himself fall on the carpet next to him.

On Don's other side were their equally sated mates basking in the afterglow of their own love-making.

 

“And here I thought we should _not_ have sex the day before mating season starts...” Mikey yawned. “Y'know, cause we're gonna fuck so much anyways.”

 

“We gotta take advantage of an empty house. Really nice of the guys to take the kids a day early...”

 

Since Kion and his mates would pass this mating season, they had offered to let the kids stay with them.

 

The little shit had been grinning way too wide when he's held up the bowl with the two pills, when Mikey and Leo had brought the kids over.

Mikey had excused himself to “talk” to Kion, and in the safety of the bathroom they mixed the pills up.

 

“ _Come on, fate knows what it's doing. Close your eyes and pick one.”_

 

The memory was passing his mind again and again. In a bout of panic he thought about quickly swallowing the right pills, maybe a dozen of them to be on the safe side.

But he could vaguely remember Donnie telling him to not take more than one each mating season, as the hormone concentration was too high and would be dangerous.

 

“Sides, we're just getting in the mood. Could be it hits us in the next few hours already.” Don's words brought Mikey out of his panicked musings.

 

“Huh, true...”

 

Donatello opened his mouth to add something, when something made him squeak and frown at Raph. “Geeze, I think our Raphie here is already affected.”

 

Raphael smirked and continued to rub his impressive cock against Don's thigh.

 

“Can't help it. Nature.” He panted out.

 

“What about you, baby?” Leo murmured as he started to place open mouthed kisses on Mike's heating neck. “Feeling the effects already?”

 

A churr was his response, followed by a pleasured gasp when Leo's thick fingers rubbed intimately over his leaking hole.

 

He had to admit, his body was way more sensitive to his mate's touches than it should be. His entrance was practically trying to suck Leo's finger inside.

 

“Take me...” he moaned out, moving his hips to get the fingers to finally penetrate him.

 

“Since you're so rudely ignoring us, we're inviting ourselves to the party...” Don husked, rolling himself on top of Mikey and rubbing their dicks together, pulling Leo in a passionate kiss.

 

All thoughts about babies evaporated when the first hot cock entered his needy body.

 

 

~

 

 

The waiting, Mikey mused, was the worst.

 

According to Kion, who had subtly asked Telon, the earliest time to find out for sure was three weeks after mating season.

 

If he had gone without the pill he'd at least know the chance was very very high. With this... this not knowing anything at all, he couldn't function.

 

One more week, he didn't know if he could wait that long. But he didn't have another choice, did he?

 

Michelangelo's nervousness was amusing the heck out of Kion, still the freckled turtle thought he was doing a pretty good job at hiding his mental state from his mates.

 

“ _Only seven days,”_ Kion had teased him at their last visit, _“and then you'll know.”_

Easy for him to say, Mikey thought, his inner voice grumbling as he started to prepare dinner.

 

He had just filled a pot with water when Nix trudged into the kitchen. Mike assumed he was here to help as usual, but instead of grabbing the pasta he came up to his side and wrapped his arms around his mother's middle, face buried in his plastron.

 

Frowning, Mikey knelt down to be at eye-level with his son.

 

“What's wrong, angelcakes?”

 

Nix rubbed his eye with a fist, looking way younger. “I don't feel good, mommy...”

It was a testament to how poor he must be feeling that he used _mommy_ instead of _mom_.

 

Just like Leo, Nix had a pretty good immune system and rarely got sick. In the eight years of being alive he's only been sick three times. The first time was when he was barely two months old, then the little cough when he was two, and the last time had been about three years ago when he's been five.

 

“Aw sweetie...” Mikey cooed before touching his lips to his son's forehead to feel for a temperature. He was a little warmer than usual.

Thinking back, he's been pretty quiet at breakfast and when they've come home from school.

“Where does it hurt?”

 

“My head, and my tummy... and I feel so _weird_.” Nix whined, not knowing how to describe the feeling. “Like... _bleh_...”

 

Mikey nodded, assuming Phoenix was feeling nauseous. With how rarely he got sick, and the lack of sicknesses in the native turtles in general, he probably wouldn't know the term.

 

He gently rubbed his hand over Nix' head.

“Have you told papa yet?”

 

The child shook his head and burrowed into his mother's chest again, arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

“No... want you.”

 

Michelangelo couldn't help but smile as he patted Nix' carapace. Apparently being sick brought out his clingy side again.

Wrapping his arms around him, Mikey lifted him up as he stood, huffing a little as he had him on his hip best he could.

 

He couldn't quite grasp how his mates were able to lift _him_ so easily, while he could barely carry their much shorter and lighter child. They weren't _that_ much more muscular as him.

 

“You're getting really heavy.” He teased, but Nix only nuzzled his snout to the crook of Mikey's neck and coughed.

 

Since he didn't hear a sound from the ground floor, he climbed the stairs to find his genius brother.

A frown found its way on his face as a not so pleasant sound reached his earholes, coming from the master bedroom.

 

As he entered the room, he identified the sound as retching. Sighing, he walked over to their adjoining private bathroom and found Leo kneeling in front of the toilet.

He seemed quite pale, flushing with one finger as his head rested on the seat.

 

The smell was not nice, Nix probably thought so too, because two seconds later he began heaving.

 

Thinking quick, Mikey held him so he was bent over the sink before he could shower them in the remains of his lunch.

 

The child coughed when he was done, tears streaming down his reddened cheeks. “Mommy...”

 

Mikey settled him on his hips again and grabbed a towel to wipe his son's mouth. “It's okay angelcakes, I'm here...” He consoled him, rocking him slightly to soothe him.

 

He looked up when Leo came to stand by them, turning on the water by the sink to wash the evidence away.

 

“Are you okay?” Mikey asked his mate, who shrugged.

 

“Define 'okay'...”

 

Michelangelo frowned and once again balanced Nix on one side to have a hand free. He pressed it to Leo's forehead and cheek.

 

“You're also fairly warm. Come on, lay down. I'm gonna go hunt down Donnie.”

 

“It's alright, I'm-”

 

“Seriously?” Mikey gave him an unimpressed look. “I thought you've outgrown that behavior.”

 

“No really, it's-”

 

“Zip it. I don't wanna hear it, Leonardo Hamato. Lay down.”

 

Leo's sigh definitely sounded faintly raspy. “Yes, mom...” he attempted to tease, smiling when Mikey lightly slapped his biceps.

 

He slipped under the covers on their big, warm and admittedly very comfortable bed. After Leo got as comfortable as he could he held out his hands for Nix.

 

“Here, sweetie, why don't you cuddle with fafa while I go find your papa?” Mikey suggested in a gentle tone. He pursed his lips when the grip only tightened and Nix shook his head.

 

“No...”

 

“Fine. Plan B.” Mike sighed with good humor as he sat down on the edge of the bed, placing his son, who apparently was partly koala, on his lap.

He rummaged through the drawer of their bedside table for their spare shell cell.

 

“Are they even home?” He asked Leo as he hit the purple button.

 

“They're in you-know-what room.” the older turtle coughed, rubbing his eyes. He didn't wanna say that they were preparing the surprise for Nix, though the kid could definitely use some cheering up with how miserable he looked.

 

“ _You do know the mansion is not_ that _big, right?”_ Was Donatello's distracted greeting.

 

“It is when you have an armful of sick child to carry around.” Mikey countered. He could hear the genius set down whatever he was tinkering with.

 

“ _Nix?”_

 

“Yup. He and Leo had a little vomit party in our bathroom. You should probably take a look at them... and bring a bucket.”

 

“ _I'm on my way, try to not get too close.”_

 

Mikey dipped his chin to look down at the little turtle curled up impossibly close.

 

“Sure.”

 

They ended the call and Mikey decided to get a little more comfortable, leaning back against the headboard with Nix snuggled up to him. He used both hands to console the two sick turtles, stroking their heads softly and getting a purr from Leo in return.

 

“So much for a relaxing vacation...” The leader sighed, eyes closed.

 

“Mh, I'm sure you'll both be fine in two days. As usual.”

 

“I don't know... with how crappy I feel right now I might not make it.”

 

“I thought it was nothing?” Mikey teased, smiling when Leo did.

 

“It wouldn't be so bad if the nausea wasn't there...” He opened his eyes to look up at Mikey. “Seriously though, it'd be better for you to _not_ catch this.”

 

“Hey, I'll have you know that I haven't been sick for almost two years now.”

 

“All the more reason to keep you away from the germs.” Don's voice rang out as he and Raph entered the bedroom, the latter carrying two buckets.

 

Mikey stuck out his tongue childishly as his mates joined them on the bed and the genius started examining the patients.

 

A new thought entered Mike's mind. The past two pregnancies he's been immune to sickness because of his cold-blooded unborn babies. Maybe, if he didn't get sick, it could mean he was pregnant.

If the potential fetus was cold-blooded, that's it. Then again, if it was warm-blooded, he could get sick, couldn't he?

 

What a mess.

 

 

~

 

 

When he felt overall miserable the next morning, he wasn't sure if he should be relieved or disappointed. Or if it was even a reason to be relieved... or disappointed.

 

It had been sure that he'd catch whatever bug Leo and Nix got. He always had and probably always would.

 

Like with them, the nausea was the worst symptom. It was not fun for any member of their family. And even when Nix and Leo were feeling better a few days after, the boy stayed glued to Mikey, a worried little cuddle bug.

 

“Whatever you caught, it sure is stubborn.” Don mused as he rubbed Michelangelo's neck after another round of throwing up in the bucket.

 

“I was actually starting to feel better.” Mikey mumbled into the pillow, eyes closed as he enjoyed the hands kneading his neck and shoulders.

 

“Has to be some sort of mutated stomach bug. It's the only persisting symptom.” Don hummed in agreement, looking up briefly when Raph came back with a cleaned bucket.

 

“Next time it's Leo's turn to clean it, I've seen enough vomit the past week to last for a lifetime.”

 

Leo made a face from where he was going over some files he brought from the city hall to work from home.

 

“If you wanna risk cleaning up _my_ added vomit from the carpet, be my guest.”

 

“I thought you were feeling fine?” Donatello pursed his lips.

 

“I am!” Leo clutched the papers possessively, as if Don would take them from him. “The smell is just... not so pleasant. I don't think my stomach can take it.”

 

“Excuses, excuses...”

 

Between the vomiting, sleeping, and feeling overall horrible, Mikey had almost forgotten his panic. He was pretty sure he wasn't pregnant. Almost all of his children were cold-blooded. What were the chances the “maybe-baby” was warm-blooded and therefore not protecting him from sicknesses like this one?

 

Then the sickness dragged on, and while he was indeed feeling better, his temperature kinda back to normal, no headache anymore. The only remaining symptom was the nausea and vomiting.

And suddenly he was not so sure anymore.

 

If he acted as if he was totally fine again except for the vomiting, the guys could get suspicious. Or worse, _hopeful_. And if it was nothing in the end, really just a virus or something, they could be _disappointed_. Especially Raph.

 

This not-knowing had to end. Tomorrow he'd go to Telon and have him take a blood test. He needed to know now or he'd go crazy.

 

 

~

 

 

It had taken quite some persuasion, and two more days of hiding the (possibly!) morning sickness and acting like health in person, to have Donnie and Leo get back to work so he'd have some privacy.

 

He sent Raph to get some groceries, making sure he'd be busy for a while, before hurrying to Telon's house.

The doctor had an exam room, which was so very convenient for so many reasons. This situation especially, as Mikey could always say he was just visiting Kion.

 

Speaking of his so-called friend, the little shit was holding back his teasing as he stood next to the exam table, Taro cooing in his arm, as his mate drew blood for the test.

 

“You seem quite calm. I thought you'd be just as much a nervous wreck as you've been the past weeks.”

 

“I think I threw up all my anxiety.” Mikey mumbled, eyes not leaving Telon as the doctor handled his blood by his desk, shell turned to them. In reality he wasn't calm, the anxiety was just kind of paralyzing him.

 

“Here, hold the baby. You'll feel better.” Kion held Taro to the freckled turtle, the boy giggling cutely as he reached for his “Uncy Mikey”.

 

Michelangelo sighed as he averted his gaze from Telon in favor of cooing at the baby, hoping to distract himself.

 

“Oh Taro, your mommy's an evil turtle. His stupid idea made me a mess.”

 

“A happy mess.” Kion corrected with a grin. “Or well. Maybe a disappointed one. And hey, whatever it is, you'll be happy to know what you _really_ wanted all along.”

 

“Am I having a stroke? What the heck are you saying?”

 

“Duh. When you find out you're not pregnant and you're disappointed, you know you want another baby. Then you can definitely make one next mating season. And if you are pregnant and you're disappointed, you know you really weren't ready and next time Raphie begs you can just follow your initial gut feeling.”

 

“Kinda stupid, if you ask me. Cause then I'll know but I'll still have a baby.”

 

Taro gave a squeal and made a cute attempt at a frown. Kion shot Mikey a pointed look.

 

“See? You're insulting Taro by implying babies are a bad thing.”

 

Dead-panning at Kion, but playing along in favor of lightening the mood, he then gasped.

 

“Aw no! I would never imply that this sweet piece of sunshine was anything but perfect!” he cooed bopping his snout against Taro's, making the baby giggle.

 

“NO, godammit!”

 

Kion and Mikey turned wide-eyed gazes at the doctor, who slowly turned to frown at his mate.

 

“What?”

 

“... You won our bet.”

 

 

~

 

 

“... I'm not sure what to think of it.” Donatello admitted as he tilted his head at the screen in front of him.

 

A burst of green-ish light had illuminated the sky for a short second. It had been enough to startle the turtles that had been outside, so naturally when frightened they asked their mayor for help.

 

The surveillance camera had only caught part of the sky, but enough to see the weird light. Not knowing what it could've been, Leonardo had asked Donnie.

 

While they had retrieved the video, Raph had joined them with his bags of groceries, having seen the “show” first-hand.

 

“Someone playing with colored flashlights maybe?” Leo suggested, shrugging helplessly.

 

“Nah. The whole sky was green. Nothing a lamp or a flashlight could've done.”

 

“Did you see which direction it came from?”

 

“Heck no, it was like the flash of a camera or something.”

 

“... hm. The light in my lab did flicker for a second. Maybe it was some... some power wave... or something.” Donnie winced at his poor explanation. “Still, I have no idea what caused it.”

 

“None of the patrolling cops saw anything out of ordinary when it happened. So it's from somewhere outside the city.” Leo speculated, rubbing his chin.

“Maybe we should take a look... but rounding the outer border of the city by foot will take-”

 

The door to Leo's office burst open, startling the three turtles inside. Nilo scrambled to his feet when he stumbled on his way in, eyes wide as he stared at them.

 

“Uh...”

 

“Geeze, where's the fire?”

 

“We kinda have... a situation?” The once skinny turtle rubbed at the back of his head, clearly not knowing how to explain. “Like... we have visitors. I think.”

 

“Visitors? Who?”

 

“I have absolutely no idea. One of them is an alligator, but he acts all weird and different from them, and there are two... I have no idea what they are. But they... they just appeared... and they said they were searching for you guys.”

 

Something felt quite heavy in the stomachs of Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael. Very, very heavy.

An alligator and two creatures of unknown species.

 

“... What... what do they look like?” Leo asked, tongue like lead in his mouth.

 

“I really can't explain. Like, their skin is kinda pink-ish. And they have this...” he gestured at his head, as if something was sprouting from there, “... like really long fur! But such a weird color. And-”

 

“Where are they?” Leo interrupted him, heart bumping hard against his chest.

 

Don looked like he'd seen a ghost, and Raph was frozen.

 

“Bogen and Usagi brought them to the conference room in the west wing. It was closer than-” Nilo blinked, trailing off as the three rushed past him, leaving him more confused than ever.

 

In front of the door to the conference room they stopped abruptly. They could hear them. They could hear the voices of their former friends.

 

Casey, who roughly demanded to know where they were and why they were brought here.

The deep rumble of Leatherhead, telling Casey to cool it and just wait.

And April, gently asking if the turtle and the rabbit knew their bandana-wearing, weapon-wielding ninja friends.

 

April... who betrayed them. Who was responsible for their father's death. Who, somehow, managed to travel dimensions with Leatherhead and Casey Jones. Who came to find them, almost ten years after they've been forced to leave.

 

They exchanged uneasy looks, unable to decide if they should open the door and reveal themselves.

 

What could they want? How, and most importantly why, did they come to find them?

 

They could hide, pretend to not be here in this dimension. Force them to move along, leave them alone. But... the curiosity was strong.

 

“... We could at least find out what they want.” Donnie, ever the curious turtle, whispered almost mutely.

 

“I'm not letting her destroy this life too.” Raph's jaw was set, an old protective fire blazing in his eyes.

 

“Leatherhead is with her... I don't think he'd have helped her if she-”

 

“Maybe he doesn't know what she did to us.”

 

“She must have told him, or he would've never helped her re-create our prototype for dimension tra-”

 

“Could you guys tell me what's going on?” Nilo interrupted them, a little out of breath from running after them. “How do you know them?”

 

Nobody answered.

 

Leo, whose been quiet the whole time, sighed. Both of his mates watched him, waiting for his decision.

 

“... It's our chance to find out why April did it. As much as it hurts that she did it... I need to know _why_.”

 

Seeing their mate, their fearless leader, so torn made Raph swallow his spiteful words. Fine. He could pull it together and hear them out. But he will never ever forgive her, no matter her reasons.

 

So the three of them squared their shoulders, and opened the door.

 

* * *

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're probably gonna hate me for this chapter...

* * *

 

 

“... him my new picture!”

 

Mikey chuckled as he followed his children into their mansion.

 

“Yeah, do that. And while you're at it, ask him why he didn't pick you up from school today.”

 

Having not even quite digested, not even fully swallowed the results of his test yet, getting a call from school that Raph had not showed up to pick up the kids had been a welcome distraction.

 

Sure, he was wondering how the super-dad Raphael could forget to get his precious children when it was his turn. Still, he would have a good reason... At least Mikey hoped for him that he did.

 

To see him in the living room, practically glaring holes into the coffee table with Leo restlessly pacing the carpet and Donnie seeming emotionally drained, made his heart plummet to his stomach, dread gripping him immediately.

 

Something was definitely not right.

 

“It's a really nice picture, sweetie.” Raph managed to say, though he could barely lift the corners of his mouth to a smile.

 

The triplets seemed to catch on that something was not quite the norm.

 

“Uh... is everything okay?” Amy asked carefully, worried at how sad her papa looked.

 

“Yes, everything's fine. We just... uhm. We kinda have some grown-up talk to do.”

 

Mikey jumped when Bogen came up from behind him, arms folded and a worried frown on his face. That was _so_ not reassuring.

 

“Uncle Bogen?” Ky's eye-ridges furrowed in confusion.

 

“Hey champ.” The cop smiled to lessen their possible fear. He even laughed when the twins ran up to hug his legs with a giggle, oblivious to the tension in the room.

 

“Whoa, careful! How am I supposed to give you a ride to Lenara when you're suffocating me?!”

 

“We're visiting Lenara? So cool! But why didn't we go with uncle Telon then?”

 

“Oh, it was supposed to be a surprise for all of you.” Leo said, a tiny, but real smile on his face as he watched his children.

 

“And you had to pick up your stuff, you're staying with them for tonight.” Donnie said, also trying hard to appear at least halfway normal, gesturing to the backpacks that were neatly rowed by the couch.

 

“But why?” Nix frowned, not liking how anxious his parents seemed to be.

 

“Like papa said, Ace, we have some grown-up things to talk about. Would you rather stay in your room all day? I think playing with Elia sounds better, right?”

 

If Phoenix was honest, he'd rather stay here and maybe listen in on that grown-up talk. It couldn't be good news if it had them all jumpy and nervous.

But if there was one thing he's learned over the years, it was to listen to his gut feeling. And he was pretty sure his gut was telling him to do what his parents asked him to.

 

So he nodded, noting the relieved way the tensed muscles of his dads relaxed ever so lightly. He'd _so_ have to talk to his brother and sister about that weird behavior.

He hated when their parents kept things from them, all of them did. They were old enough to understand important stuff!

 

“Can I take my lamp?” He asked, hoping to appear enthusiastic enough that Ky and Amy would catch on and take the hint not to make a fuss.

 

Donnie managed a light chuckle. “I already packed it for you. Now hurry up, I bet Kion is already making a late lunch for Elia and Lenara.”

 

“I think he planned on making pasta bake.” Bogen told them while he patiently waited till they each had their backpack, before urging them on. “And if we hurry, you can help uncle Telon and me bathe Taro.”

 

With giggles and cheers leaving, the front door fell shut. Finally alone, the previous tension was back, and Mikey felt his heart beat uncomfortably hard against his ribcage.

 

“What's going on?” He asked, dreading the answer and almost regretting the question when Raph let out a deep sigh.

The alpha scooted a little over, creating space on the cushion between himself and Donatello.

 

Quite unsure, Mikey sat down.

 

“So, today...”

 

 

~

 

 

“ _Guys!”_

 

“ _Could you leave us alone?” Leo directed at Usagi, Bogen and Nilo, who was still by the door._

 

“ _Uuuh... are you sure?” Bogen asked, eyeing the alligator warily._

 

“ _Yes. They won't harm us.”_

 

_Since their mayor sounded so sure, the rabbit and two native turtles left the conference room, closing the heavy door behind them._

 

“ _I'm so glad we found you, we've been searching ages for you!”_

 

_None of the turtles was able to answer for a good while. April seemed to catch on that they weren't exactly happy to see her._

 

“ _Listen... I never meant for it to happen. They... they looked like stupid youths, standing in my shop and talking shit about mutants.” She bit her lip, lowering her gaze. “I just couldn't let them be. I told them that not every mutant was_ bad _.”_

 

_She paused, shoulders heavy with guilt as she remembered what she's been trying to push down all this time._

 

“ _They were straight up attacking me verbally, and I know I should've stood over that. But my fuse just blew; I told them that I knew some mutant heroes.”_

 

_She licked her lips, clenching her hands, and Casey put a hand on her shoulder to encourage her to continue. His face pleaded the turtles to hear her out._

 

“ _A few days later I was cornered in an alley. They took me in their van, guys in suits from the government. They asked me about these mutants I've been talking about. I didn't say anything about your whereabouts, not a single thing, I swear!”_

_Unshed tears collected in the slightly wrinkled corners of her eyes._

 

“ _They kept_ saying _things, and kept trying to assure me that they were the good ones. That they wanted to help you become part of the society. They said they'd rather have you on their side than as enemies.”_

 

“ _They had videos.” Casey added, having heard the story already, back then when April had broken down and told him everything. “They didn't show much, but parts of you were visible, snippets, and they showed you ducking into the sewers quite frequently.”_

 

“ _I think they were dash-cams, going by the angle.” April said, wiping at her eyes. “They told me they already knew that this was were your home had to be. But they couldn't comb the all of the sewers without raising suspicions. They sounded so sincere. As if they'd really mean to actually help you.”_

 

“ _They wanted to start slowly introducing you, to not scare the whole city, and they knew not everyone was a fan of mutants. I told them that you were ninjas, and you probably didn't want to be in public... But he made everything sound so plausible. That you couldn't possibly be happy living underground, in the dirty environment, always having to hide...”_

 

“ _And so you just decided to lead him to our secret lair, to destroy our lives out of the blue.”_

 

“ _NO!” April shook her head, her hair, now cut quite short as they noticed, flying. “I told them I wanted to ask you first, if you were willing to try. Maybe meet on neutral ground with them. And they agreed.”_

_She shook her head again, more slowly this time._

 

“ _And me, being an idiot apparently, didn't notice they've bugged me. They followed the signal when I wanted to visit you a week later, thinking they wouldn't try to follow me after a week of nothing. But they did, and when they knew the general location, they acted.”_

 

_Leonardo's head was reeling. Should he believe her? Why shouldn't he? Why should she lie about it? It was quite possible. And way more plausible than her just betraying their year-long trust out of the blue._

 

“ _They didn't want to kill him...” she added a few heartbeats later._

 

“ _But they did.” Raph added, keeping his straight face._

 

“ _They were scared! They partly knew what you were capable of... the one shooting was one of the newbies, rather young. He almost killed himself for what he's done.”_

 

“ _Are you seriously expecting us to show sympathy for a stupid kid that killed our father because he was scared?” Raphael's hard tone wasn't lost on April._

 

_Casey stepped in. “No she's not expecting that. But it_ was _an accident. They had no idea how to approach you, especially after... after_ it  _happened.” He sighed. “And then you were gone.”_

 

“ _The leader was devastated, blaming himself for not being able to help you and making that horrible mistake of sending in a newbie.”_

 

“ _... So what? You decided to find Leatherhead, make him build a new device for dimension travel and try to bring us back? To what? Bring deliver us to the government?” Donnie finally spoke up, glancing at their alligator friend._

 

_The large mutant closed his eyes briefly. “They speak the truth, my friends.”_

 

“ _After that, and after digesting... It... I swore to myself I wouldn't make that mistake again. I spoke to the leader, I knew he wasn't a bad guy. That I would approach another friend on my own first, like it was originally planned with you. And he let me.” April said._

 

“ _She came to me, and I honestly thought I was going to be killed. But I trusted her. And I wasn't disappointed.”_

 

_Leatherhead would never lie to them. He owed his life to them, he was completely honest. And the truth of it made their hearts heavy and clenching._

 

“ _There are so many mutants, my friends. Scattered all over New York and surrounding. Slowly they've been introduced, and while there are some that hate us, the majority accepts us. I even got a real job.”_

 

_It was so surreal. Could this be true? Did they run from a big change in their old lives?_

 

“ _So you came to tell us? And bring us back?”_

 

“ _Well... yes. We didn't know there'd be such a dimension, and it took us a few years to actually build the device, and to find you at all... we only had traces of your device's power surges to follow...”_

 

_Casey bumped his shoulder slightly against April's, and Leatherhead lowered his head too._

 

“ _And...” The woman sighed. “We need your help.”_

 

 

_~_

 

 

“... Our help...?” Mikey echoed. During the re-telling he hasn't moved an inch, aside from digging his nails into his knees.

 

The three being here was a shock, something he'd never expect happening. While he was kind of anxious about Leatherhead, the appearance of Casey and especially April left a sour taste in his mouth.

 

“There's a huge movement of mutant-haters. And some evil mutants that need to be put in their place.” Leo sighed. “They want us to come back and play crime-fighters again.”

 

“B-But... we have our life here... with our kids...”

 

“Exactly.” Raph said, glare back, though it was directed at Leo. “We have our kids here.”

 

“It's not like we couldn't take them with us...” Don argued weakly, not quite convinced by his own words.

His old feeling of duty was kinda pushing him to agree, though he surely wasn't happy about it.

 

“Yeah, to the dangerous mob and the even more dangerous monsters. Gonna be just peachy.” Raph said sarcastically.

 

“They're just humans, we can't just let them fend for themselves against mutants.” Leo sighed, rubbing at his forehead.

 

“ _Just_ one human killed our father, Leo! They can deal enough damage, they don't need us!”

 

“But then everything they've been trying to achieve was for nothing! If they start killing mutants at sight, all of them, even the good ones, even Leatherhead, will have to go back in hiding!”

 

“So what?!” Raph raised to his feet. “I can't believe you would just throw away this awesome life we built here, to go back to defend a bunch of ungrateful humans, who would kill you without a second thought! All just because of a sob story! Of the woman responsible for father's death!”

 

Donnie winced at that. Raph was right. But the gentle part of him knew New York City was their home... it was where they grew up.

 

“You think I don't know that?! I don't like the idea of going back! But it's our duty! We-”

 

“Duty my ass, Leo!” Raph was glad they had the children safe with Bogen and the others, so they wouldn't have to be careful with their volume.

“We don't owe them shit! If the good mutants are so keen on keeping their place in human society they can fight the evil ones!”

 

“None of them have been trained like we were-”

 

“The evil ones are just _thugs_! A punch for a punch, not much training needed!”

 

“Would you finally shut up and let me finish a single sentence?!”

 

It was quite scary to see them go back to their old, old fighting habit. Like all the years here, that they mellowed together, vanished within just a few hours.

 

“Not when everything you say is bullshit!”

 

“If we would still live there, you would've been exhilarated to finally roam free, and would've protected them with passion!”

 

“News flash, we don't live there anymore! _This_ is our home, our family, and this is what I'm protecting! And this is what _you_ should be protecting!”

 

Leo's stance was faltering. “You can protect our family _and_ the people back home.”

 

“It isn't our home anymore.” Raph lowered his voice to match Leo's.

 

“... It's dad's home. And the place he died. He would've done everything to protect the city. That's why he trained us. So we could protect his... our home. Our _real_ home.”

 

It was hard being mad at Leonardo when the midnight eyes were glassy with unshed tears, and he was trying so visibly hard to keep it together.

 

“But this is our children's real home. We can't rip them away from their friends, from everything, to bring them to our sick and tainted home.” Raph's voice was trembling with his own effort to not lose it.

 

Both of them stared at each other for a long moment, each letting out a shaky sigh simultaneously.

It was useless. Both had their opinion, both had their reasons.

 

“... What do you say?” Leo addressed their other two mates.

 

Donnie rubbed both hands over his face, trying to formulate a sentence in his head.

 

“Do we have to decide this right now?” Mikey asked in a quiet voice, hands rubbing his arms uneasily.

 

“April, Casey and Leatherhead are attracting quite the attention. They're in the outer hotel at the moment, and I'd rather have them out of sight and gone by tomorrow before there's a panic.” Leonardo explained, sitting down on the armchair across from Donnie and Mikey.

 

“I think...” Donatello started, “... that you're both kinda right. Here, we are happy. Our kids are happy...” He shrugged, biting his lip. “But even though we don't really owe them anything, it doesn't quite feel right to... to just let them down. Father would've wanted us to protect our city.”

 

Leo nodded, accepting the answer. Raph's mouth twisted a little.

 

“Dad didn't know we could've had a life like this instead.” He mumbled.

 

Mikey had his hands in his lap now, fumbling with his fingers. He knew his mates were looking at him now, waiting for his opinion.

 

His motherly side was internally screaming, throwing a fit, how they could even suggest leaving their safe life to endanger their children like that.

His old, carefree self probably would've agreed to go back, as long as they had the chance to get back here too whenever they'd liked.

 

If he agreed with Raph now, there'd be a standstill and they would discuss the whole night until one of them gave in.

 

However... Mikey had a reason that kinda topped it all and would end the discussion... at least for a long while, that is.

 

“... I'm not agreeing to anything here.” He started instead. This was not quite how he imagined delivering the news to them. “But how would you make sure to protect the kids?”

 

“Well, we have no idea how the whole situation is yet. Casey said there are no packs, they attack in teams of two or alone. So I was thinking, _if_ we go,” he glanced at Raph at that part, “that we patrol in pairs. Two stay at home with the kids, two go out.”

 

“What if something happens, and they're separated from us?”

 

“We could also train them more. Concentrate on their ninja training...” Don sighed. “I don't really wanna do this to them.” He rubbed his temple, dismissing his own idea already.

“I hated being forced to learn ninjutsu all the time when all I wanted was to read, learn and tinker.”

 

“The triplets already know the basics, they could defend and hide themselves if needed. We show the twins the same, and show them an emergency hide-out and meeting point.” Leo offered.

 

“This sounds like we're going into war. Instead of movies and hot chocolate and cuddling on the couch we're sending them into a war zone with constant fear of their parents not making it.” Raph's words were hard, but even Leo had to admit, he was kinda right.

 

“We don't know if it's that bad. Could be it's just like here now, with more diversity, and a few black sheep here and there.” The eldest said.

 

Now that Don and Leo were more inclined to stay here, Mikey felt better in playing his joker. If they'd really _wanted_ to go, he would've hated to be the one to force them all to stay.

However, with how it is, they only really needed a little push to regain their senses after the shock and realize that they couldn't go back.

 

“... And what if there was another important variable in the equation?” Mikey asked, not looking up from his hands.

 

“What kind?”

 

Michelangelo tried to will his breath not to get too shallow with how nervous he was.

“Let's say, the small, cute, drooling and crying kind...?”

 

He felt his own heartbeat in his head, heard it as the room fell completely silent.

When after a few more heartbeats there still wasn't a reaction, he chanced a glance up.

 

“No way. Are you serious?!”

 

Raphael was kneeling in front of him then, wide eyes so hopeful Mikey couldn't help but chuckle shakily as he nodded, his own eyes watering.

 

“Y-Yes...”

 

The muscular arms were around him not even a breath later, squeezing him tight against the hard plastron.

 

Don's hand found his thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze.

 

“Why didn't you say anything?”

 

“I only found out today...” Mike admitted, wiping at his eyes.

 

“I thought you were taking the pill...” Donnie was half-smiling, though it looked quite off.

 

“That's kind of a long story, actually...”

 

Leo was quiet, mouth a tight line. “You said you weren't ready yet...”

 

“It's complicated... I-”

 

“It's just taking one pill, how is that complicated?”

 

Mikey's eyes widened at the tone. Donatello frowned, while Raph pulled away from his pregnant mate to round in on Leo.

 

“What the shell is your problem _now_?!”

 

“My problem is that our family life is attacked from all sides lately! First April, now this-”

 

“A-Attacked?” Mikey gasped. Leo didn't mean that, did he?

 

“The only one attacking our family life is _you_ , because _you_ are seriously considering sending our family into war zone!”

 

Leonardo's jaw worked as he glared at Raph. He clenched his fists, shaking his head.

 

“I can't do this right now.” And with that he stormed out the front door.

 

Surprised and absolutely furious by that behavior, Raphael followed him, slamming the door behind him as he shouted for Leo to stop.

 

Mikey struggled to swallow around the lump in his throat. This was not how he imagined the reveal to go. Not at all.

 

“D-Donnie... Do you think it was a mistake...?”

 

Donatello's response was weighing his heart down more. The genius shrugged one shoulder, not looking up from his lap.

 

“... It was kind of a big family decision. You could've at least told us you were considering it. It's kind of a shock...” He sighed.

 

“I wasn't really... I mean... I didn't think it's that big a deal. And you both always said you wouldn't mind...”

 

“I don't mind. Still it would've been nice to, I don't know, be prepared.”

 

Michelangelo fought to keep it together. He was so stupid. So freaking stupid. Donnie was right. Like an idiot he just thought he could play with their life like that. He should've known fate hated them and of course the outcome, any outcome, would have a fatal effect one way or another.

 

“I'm sorry.” He said calmly as he got up and left the room.

 

He wandered to the unused wing and settled in an empty bathroom, back against the door as he finally let the tears fall.

His hands found his flat stomach as he hiccuped, trying to keep quiet despite the impossibility of anyone hearing him.

 

“Don't worry, baby...” he told the unborn being inside of him. “You're not a mistake. I love you, and your other parents love you too...”

 

In the living room, Don also had his face buried in his hands as he fought his emotions. Where did they go wrong?

 

 

~

 

 

“Have you lost your mind?!” Raph snapped as he finally caught up with Leo, ways off the mansion and still a mile away off The Heights and other houses.

“You can't just say these things to Mikey and run off!”

 

“You used to storm off all the time to blow off steam!”

 

“Oh no, don't turn this on me now! I get that you're mad 'cause of the New York stuff, but that's no reason to let it out on Mikey!”

 

“I didn't say anything-”

 

“You basically told him he's destroying our family just by having a baby! _Our_ baby! _Your_ baby!”

 

“He could've at least said something! We didn't _plan_ this!”

 

“You're sounding just like Donnie back then! Who cares if we planned this?!” Raph threw up his arms in exasperation.

“We didn't plan finding and staying in this great universe. We didn't plan to have the triplets. We didn't plan the twins. And everything turned out fine! We're happy here, we love our kids!”

 

“Well maybe _I'm_ not happy!”

 

Raphael's eyes widened as he practically recoiled, as if Leo punched him in the gut.

 

“We have our family, real friends, you're the mayor of our new hometown-”

 

“Well maybe I don't like how everything turned out.”

 

“You can't be serious.”

 

Leonardo glared at the ground, tears pricking his eyes.

 

“Of course you wouldn't understand. You have the best life, being at home all the time with the kids, with Mikey. You can do whatever you want, and Mikey is doing whatever you want.” He clenched his fists.

“If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't have decided to have another kid. He didn't even ask me and Donnie.”

 

“I won't apologize for wanting another baby, Leo. What the heck is going on with you all of a sudden? You want me to go find a job so you and Don aren't the only ones working? I can do that, if it makes you feel better.”

 

“It won't make a difference. This... the way how it is now...” Leo shook his head, refusing to let the tears fall.

“Sometimes I wish we hadn't stayed here.”

 

Raph shook his head, disbelieving.

 

“If that's really how you feel, then maybe you really should go back with them, after all.”

 

The alpha's heart pounded painfully as he turned around to go back to the mansion, leaving Leo standing under the darkening sky.

Tears silently trailed down the emerald cheeks, while Leo simply sat in the grass, lips bloody as he bit them to not cry too. It didn't work.

 

* * *

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, and the crappy quality of this chapter, but I'm actually very burnt out at the moment. I tried to make this chap better, but in the end I just uploaded it as it was so that you at least get an update and know what's going on. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

 

The next morning was... frosty, so to say. Since the kids had spent the night at Kion's, they didn't have to put up a big masquerade to not scare them.

 

Not that it was necessary. Donnie had left before any of them got up, a note on the fridge stating he had some big project to work on. As if anyone believed that excuse.

And Leo... well. The leader hadn't come home the last night, probably having slept in his office.

 

While Raph was really, _really_ happy to be having more babies, his mood was quite weighed down by yesterday's happenings.

 

He and Mikey were sitting at the kitchen table alone, both with a cup of coffee, long gone cold.

 

The freckled turtle was uncharacteristically quiet, and Raph couldn't blame him.

None of them had slept really well, if at all.

 

Raphael had wanted to cheer Mikey up, tell him that Leo didn't really mean any of the things he said... but... he wasn't so sure if it was the truth.

 

He sighed and grabbed his mate's hand on the kitchen table, squeezing it.

“We'll figure this out, Mikey.”

 

“I wouldn't know how...” Michelangelo mumbled. “I thought... I really thought it was a good idea.” Not really in the beginning, but he had been actually happy after getting over the shock when Telon told him he was pregnant.

 

“It _is_ a good idea. They're just high-strung because April showed up.”

 

“Sure...” Mikey sighed, not quite convinced. “Though they were quite off for a while now. Even before the guys showed up.”

 

“Leo surely appeared more aggressive than usual.” Raph didn't have the heart to tell Mikey about Leo's words from yesterday. That he was not happy with their current life.

The thought pricked at his own heart, he couldn't imagine what it would do to his youngest mate.

 

“... He's gonna tell them off, right?” Michelangelo asked quietly, frowning at his cup.

 

“He wouldn't just agree with us against it. And a baby on the way.” At least he hoped that.

 

“Can't you talk to him?”

 

“I tried that yesterday, baby. You know how stubborn he can be.”

 

“Yeah, almost as stubborn as you. I would talk to him but...” he sighed, “I'm afraid he won't want to see me.”

 

“No. Mikey, just because he's freaking out at the moment it doesn't mean he doesn't love you anymore.”

 

Michelangelo wiped his free hand over his eyes. Raph scooted closer and wrapped his arms around his little brother.

 

“I'll talk to him.”

 

 

~

 

 

“You're awfully quiet today.”

 

Donnie sighed, gratefully taking the cup of fresh coffee from Olon.

 

“Didn't sleep that well yesterday.”

 

“Trouble at home?”

 

The genius rubbed the back of his neck. While Olon wasn't exactly neutral, Donnie figured it would be good to talk to someone that wasn't as close to the family as Telon, for example.

 

“Well...”

 

“Does it have to do with the foreigners that arrived yesterday?”

 

“No... not really.” Indirectly maybe, but since the baby-news it was clear they wouldn't go back to New York, so he wasn't too worried about that.

Around lunch time Leo would tell them, and then they could leave them alone.

“Do you... do you ever feel like you're stuck in rut?” he tried to put the feeling into words.

 

Olon shrugged. “When I do, I redecorate my apartment, or I change jobs.”

 

Donnie smiled a little. “Not quite an option for me. We need the money; five kids eat a lot. And take up a lot of space. And we can't just 'redecorate' the mansion since technically it's not ours at all.”

 

“It's not like you couldn't get any other job.” Olon threw in.

 

“I actually like this job. Building stuff is great. It's just... I don't know. Every day seems to be the same. Work, home, eat, play with the kids, sleep. Rinse and repeat.”

 

“Hm. How long have you been feeling that way?”

 

Don pondered over that. “Actually... for a while now. I just thought, since the twins are old enough now and go to school we could finally have some more time for _us_.”

 

“But?”

 

“Mikey is pregnant again. We're gonna have a new baby soon, and it's another five years of taking care of that baby.”

 

“Woah. That's not really cool.” Olon said playing with the spoon in his own coffee mug. “Wait, didn't you say Telon and his family sometimes take the kids? Why don't you do something then? Maybe a week of vacation somewhere else, alone.”

 

“They have three kids themselves now. And giving them five, soon six, more to take care of for more than a day would be kinda straining our friendship.”

 

“I think you should talk to your mates. Tell them how you feel about a new baby.”

 

Donnie gave a bitter chuckle. “Can't. I did that back then when Mikey was pregnant with the triplets. I was kind of an ass, and I don't want a repeat of that.”

 

“You're not an ass for talking about your feelings. It's a totally normal and understandable way to feel.”

 

“... Maybe you're right. And it's not like I don't _want_ that baby. We could get a nanny or something. I bet Asinda would love to watch over the kids for a few days once in a while...”

 

“That's the spirit. Conversation is the key, my friend. And if they don't listen to you, screw them.”

 

Don frowned at the last part, but couldn't help but feel grateful for his coworker's open ear. He felt a ton better already.

 

“Thanks, Olon.”

 

“No problem, anytime. And I mean it.”

 

 

~

 

 

Around lunch time Don, Raph and Leo met in the latter's office with their old friends of New York.

 

He wasn't quite sure how to act around them, he actually wanted to apologize for his weird behavior the previous night immediately, but that would have to wait till after the talk with April and Co.

 

Despite having had the same hard night as them, Leo appeared as normal as ever.

 

“You... You're not coming with us?” April appeared shocked, just like Casey and Leatherhead.

 

Raph was quite relieved that Leo hadn't taken him seriously yesterday. For a few horrible hours he's been really scared the leader would leave them.

 

“We have duties here, we built our new home here.”

 

“B-but New York is your home too... We spent years rebuilding the device and seven months skipping various dimensions to find you...”

 

“To be fair,” Raph spoke up, stepping up closer to be shoulder-to-shoulder with Leo, behind the armchair Don was seated in, “it's been almost 10 years since we had to flee. Of course we'd build a life somewhere. Couldn't just wait for anyone to come find us.”

 

“Especially with how we had to leave in first place.” Don added.

 

“Still, I can't believe you would just abandon your hometown when it needs you!”

 

“Ape...” Casey's mumble met deaf ears.

 

Sensing the danger of a furious Raph, Leo put a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

 

“I'm the mayor of this city. They've accepted us immediately as their own. Our hometown doesn't even know we exist. And if they did, there's a 50/50 chance that they'd hate us.”

 

“So you're deserting them because of the mere chance of them not liking you?!”

 

Don really didn't like the guilt-trip-approach April was trying. He had to admit, he was quite surprised Raphael hadn't blown a fuse yet.

 

“Don't forget the killer mutants.”

 

Casey frowned at that. “Woah, you of all people are afraid of some measly mutants? Raph, we can easily take them!”

 

Raph ground his teeth, his muscles tense. He had no idea why Leo hadn't brought up the main reason for them staying, but maybe his older mate simply didn't want them to know about their kids.

 

“I won't take the risk.”

 

“What? You, the mighty and stubborn Raphael, are scared of taking a risk? Who are you and what did you do to my best friend?!”

 

Donnie jumped when his shell cell went off. He hurried to answer the call when he saw it was Mikey.

 

“Hey sweetheart, what's-”

 

“ _Are the triplets with you?!”_ He sounded out of breath.

 

“The...? No, why?” With a frown, Donatello looked at Leo and Raph.

 

“ _Their teacher just called, they weren't in class after lunch break. Nobody saw them in the cafeteria, the twins have no idea where they could be and are freaking out now because they think they abandoned them. I think... I think they ran away.”_

Mikey gasped through tears, trying hard to keep it together.

 

“Calm down, it's okay. We're gonna find them, I'm sure-” He broke off when there was a commotion from the hallway.

 

“No wait, you can't just barge in there.” Nilo's voice. “Why don't you wait with me in my office, and when they're done- No, don't!”

 

The door opened as a new voice spoke up. “We have to talk to our father!”

 

Nix sounded every bit as stubborn as his parents. Amy shared his determined expression, while Ky looked rather uncomfortable.

 

“Fafa, we need to-” He stopped abruptly, freezing along with his siblings at the sight of the strange creatures.

As if the foreigners weren't scary enough already, that big, no, that huge dude was seriously freaking them out.

 

Don felt the knot in his chest loosen.

 

“They just arrived, sweetheart. They're fine, don't worry.” He ended the call after reassuring Mikey and hurried to usher the kids out.

 

“Papa, what-”

 

“Later. Come on. What are you doing here? You gave your mom almost a heart attack.” With that the door closed.

 

Leonardo and Raphael carefully watched their ex-friends to see their reaction. It was not like they were owing them an explanation at all, and they really didn't want to add the kids to the equation.

 

Even if they hadn't called them father and papa and Don had referred to Mike as their mom, it was clear to anyone that they were _their_ kids.

They looked so much like them, it wasn't hard to put two and two together.

 

“You... you have kids?!” Raph and Leo squared their shoulders.

 

“Yes. And we're not going to endanger them by bringing them to that hellhole that we grew up in.”

 

 

~

 

 

Meanwhile, Donnie had ushered the triplets to an empty conference room and assured Nilo he would take care of it.

 

“Papa! Who were they?”

 

“That crocodile was huge!”

 

“Alligator.” Don and Amy corrected absentmindedly.

 

“Whatever. Who are they?”

 

“Just some... old friends visiting. It doesn't matter right now. Why aren't you in school? Your mom was worried sick!”

 

The kids pouted and folded their arms as if they were about to lecture him.

 

“We need to talk, papa.”

 

Donnie raised an eyeridge. “And that couldn't wait until _after_ school?”

 

“Well no.”

 

“It's about your secret.” Ky said, frowning.

 

“... What secret?” The genius was confused. They couldn't know about the pregnancy yet. Had Kion told them?

 

“Yesterday you were all really...”

 

“Upset. Sad. Angry.”

 

“But you just sent us away, like little kids!”

 

“... You _are_ kids.” Don deadpanned, now also crossing his arms.

 

“We're big kids.”

 

“We wanna know when something big is happening.”

 

“Nothing is happening.”

 

“Then why are your old friends suddenly here?” Nix asked.

 

“And why didn't you introduce us to them, if they're friends?” Amy threw in.

 

“Actually,” Ky rubbed his arm uneasily. “I'd rather not get to know that crocodile.”

 

“Alligator.”

 

“Whatever.”

 

Don shook his head with a sigh. “We had an... argument years before you were born. They came to apologize. But we're not exactly friends anymore...” At least not after their poor reaction to their decision to stay. “... so we'd rather have them not knowing about you.”

 

“Oh! So they can't use us as blackmail!” Ky gasped. “Like the villains in the movies!”

 

“Uh, they're not exactly villains, but yeah, kinda.” He shook his head and squatted down to be on eye-level with them.

“Look, if there was something big happening that would affect our family, we would tell you.”

 

The three pouts were just too cute. “Promise?”

 

“Big ninja promise.”

 

The children seemed satisfied with that and snuggled to their papa.

 

“There are some news to share, though. But that will have to wait till tonight at dinner. And after we decided on your punishment for just running away from school.”

 

“It was an important matter!”

 

“Still. We didn't teach you stealth so you go skip school.”

 

“But-”

 

The door burst open, revealing a frazzled looking Mikey. He let out a relieved sob at the sight of his babies all right and slid to his knees to gather them in a bone-crushing hug.

 

“Sorry we ran away, mom...”

 

“Don't you ever scare me like that again!”

 

Donnie couldn't help but smile softly before wrapping his arms around his family. Mikey sank into the comfort, glad Don didn't seem to be mad at him anymore.

 

 

~

 

 

“I'm so sorry for what I said yesterday...” Leo started after they brought their children to bed.

“I just...” He rubbed both hands over his face.

 

“... It's okay, Leo. You can't help your feelings.”

 

“No, it's not okay. I was an ass. You didn't deserve it, none of you did.”

 

When none of them said anything, Leo sighed.

 

“I know we need a big house. And money to afford it and the food. So we need a really good paying job... and being the mayor is the best paying job there is.” He babbled on, gaze fixed on the kitchen table.

 

“The thing is, it's a demanding job. There's so much to do and coordinate, meetings over meetings and all that jazz... I'm spending so much time at City Hall... I barely got to see our kids grow up properly...”

 

“Oh Leo...” The leader took a deep breath.

 

“Despite being sick, I was so glad to be home with you all for a while. The thought of going back to work was... was torture. And now there's another baby, another mouth to feed, another kid I won't be seeing as much as I'd like to.” He shrugged one shoulder.

“I guess I thought going back to New York would be some sort of escape.”

 

“Shell Fearless, if you hate this job so much, why didn't you say something sooner?” Raph shook his head.

 

“Who else would take over if I resign?”

 

“Maybe Bogen?”

 

“Bogen knows how over-worked I am. He wouldn't want that job with three kids himself.”

 

“Then ask Nilo.” Donnie suggested. “He doesn't have kids and won't ever have any. He worked with you and could probably take over. You could get your old position back and just be an adviser or something.”

 

“I think that's a great idea. We don't need you having that job if it tires you out so much.”

 

“I can't just announce a new mayor. It's gotta be a democratic decision. Next month is the new election, if he's the only contestant they'd have to vote for him...” Leo mused, shoulders relaxing a little at how understanding his mates were.

He couldn't believe how stupid he was to not talk to them sooner.

 

“But if I'm not the mayor anymore, we're gonna have to leave the mansion. We need to find a big enough house...”

 

Don bit his lip. If Leo got back to his old job, their income would decrease severely. Still, he had to talk about his state too.

 

“Uhm. If we're all being honest right now, I'd like to say something too.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“... I want to work less hours. I feel so... stuck. I want some extra time to work on some bigger personal projects, maybe actually teach Amy and Cav some more stuff, spend time with the kids in general...” The mahagony gaze lowered to the table-top.

 

“And I wanna spend more time with you all. Just us. Like back then. I thought that maybe we could, I don't know, ask Asinda or someone to look after the kids for a weekend every once in a while.”

 

It was quiet for a few moments, but Mikey intertwined their hands and leaned against him.

 

“I think that's a good idea.”

 

“Yeah. We're gonna manage just fine.” Raph nodded. “I'm gonna find some part-time job too for when the kids are at school. Bogen can help me with that.”

 

Leo perked up. “And since being an adviser leaves more than enough free time I can take a part-time job too. The school needs a PE teacher. I could see the kids at school and get money for that too.”

 

“I could look for a part-time job too.” Mikey offered. He's planned on doing that anyways.

 

“Mh... I'm not sure that's a good idea. I mean,” Raph added when Mikey frowned, “for right now, okay. But when the baby's here someone needs to stay home with it.”

 

“Then I'll look for a job where I can work in the afternoon. I can take care of the baby in the mornings, and when you get home you can look after it... or them.”

 

The three older turtles exchanged a look. Mikey rolled his eyes.

 

“Oh come on, I wanna support our family too. It's my fault there's gonna be another mouth to feed, the least I can do is to help.”

 

“Fine, we'll figure something out.” Don pacified. It was useless trying to talk Mikey out of it right now.

“First of all we need to persuade Nilo to run for the job, and then we can plan the rest.”

 

Raph played with a stray napkin. “Not that I'm complaining...” he started, glancing at Mikey, “... but why _did_ you decide to get another baby?”

 

At that Leo and Donnie looked at Mikey too, who cleared his throat and blushed.

 

“Erm. _Decided_ is kinda the wrong word.” He shrugged. “Kion had the idea to let fate decide. We mixed up the pill and a piece of candy and I gulped one of them down without tasting... and well. Apparently it was the candy.”

 

“... Are you serious?”

 

“I know, stupid. I didn't really think it through.”

 

“Not stupid... I mean... we could have talked about it, at least. But I guess it's fine. It's too late now anyways.”

 

“Anyways, I'm happy.” Raph announced. He put an arm around Leo's shoulders and used his free hand to grab Don's. “And I'm glad you were honest with us.”

 

Donnie chuckled. “Yeah. Olon was right, conversation is the key.”

 

“Eh yeah. I can't believe finding a solution was so easy...”

 

“It's not really a solution yet. Just some ideas.” Don reminded them. “If Nilo declines we're gonna have to find a substitute.”

 

“Who wouldn't want to be the mayor? And as long as Leo the super leader is there to give advice when needed there's no need to worry.”

 

“And that way you can make sure there's no second Voron.” Mikey added.

 

“... Though I do wonder what happened to him.” Donnie bit his lip. “According to the border reports he hasn't been seen at all.”

 

“The other cities haven't seen him either.” Leo rubbed hand over his own head. “That could mean he's still here. But I guess he's too scared to show himself.”

 

“It's been five years, if he hasn't shown his mug yet, he won't do it now.” Raph waved it off, clearly not wanting to talk about the old mayor anymore.

 

“Actually, I've been worried about it for quite a while now. He's not the type to just go down without a fight. If the election goes by without problems I could believe he gave up.”

 

“Worry a guy, will you?” Mikey mumbled, uneasily eyeing the direction of the stairs. He wouldn't be able to stand it if anything happened to his children.

 

“He wouldn't be so dumb to attack us directly, I think he would try a different approach. But we haven't let our guard down, he won't get past us.” Don assured him, squeezing his hand.

“By the way, have April and the guys left already?”

 

“No. They need to repair some parts, apparently they have the same problem we did back then. It's probably gonna take a week.”

 

“I could help them to make them leave faster, but...” he shrugged, “I don't actually want to spend more time with them.” Donatello admitted.

 

“No shit, they've been quite the assholes, trying to guilt-trip into coming back. Even though April was the reason we had to leave in first place.”

 

“Were they mad that we're not coming back with them?” Mikey asked, resting his head on Don's shoulder as he fought a yawn.

 

“Well, April was. Even after they saw the kids. Casey and LH were rather understanding.”

 

“I kinda miss Leatherhead. Do you think he'd want to see me?”

 

Leo smiled. “I think he'd like that very much, actually. Maybe we can separate them for a bit so you can meet up with him before they leave. I'd rather not have April try to persuade you, to be honest.”

 

“I wouldn't let myself be persuaded.” Mikey rubbed his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

 

“She's not opposed to dirty tricks. I'm not going to let her mess with your head and emotions.”

 

“You're being overprotective again~” Michelangelo sing-songed with a tired laugh.

 

Donnie chuckled and re-positioned so he could pick up his younger mate.

 

“And you are tired. Let's get to bed and leave the last shitty 24 hours behind us. I don't think any of us got much sleep last night.”

 

 

* * *

 


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

 

 

 

“You're _what_?!” Nilo exclaimed, almost dropping the cup he'd been getting from the cabinet in City Hall's kitchen. “Why the heck would you step down?!”

 

“You worked for the past five years with me, you know how much work being the mayor is.” Leo stated, leaning against the counter with folded arms.

 

“Yes, but it's like, the biggest honor there is. You have the mansion and get to decide everything!”

 

“I have five kids, and one more on the way. I'd rather have more time with my family than with my office.” The current mayor inwardly grinned at Nilo's reaction. This was working out quite well.

 

“... Huh. I guess that's understandable...” Nilo scratched the side of his face. “But who else would take over? The city loves you.”

 

“Well,” Leo carefully thought about how to word it, “I thought, since you worked that long with me and already know the workings of the job, and don't have any kids...”

 

The sub's eyes widened comically. He let himself fall on a chair by the small dining table, mouth open.

 

“I could never-”

 

“You wouldn't be alone. I'd stay an adviser, you can always ask for anything. I'd help you.”

 

“Help with what?” Both turtles looked to the doorway when Asinda came in to get a cup of coffee.

 

“Leo wants to step down!” Nilo blurted out, still in shock.

 

Asinda slammed the can of coffee down on the counter and whirled around to stare at her boss.

 

“WHAT?!”

 

Leonardo chuckled and laid his reasons out again for her.

The female had a thoughtful expression on her face as she poured herself a cup of coffee now.

 

“... And you thought of Nilo because he has no kids?”

 

“That's part of the reason. But he also worked long enough with me to know what to do.”

 

Asinda pursed her lips as she played with the mug in her hands.

 

“I was the mayor's mate for fifteen years. And your secretary for the past five.”

 

Leo raised an eyeridge. “I didn't know you'd be interested.”

 

“Sure, why not? It'd be refreshing to have a female in a position of power. And you'd be here to help, right?”

 

“Yeah, of course. Well, if Nilo isn't interested-”

 

“Hey, woah, I didn't say that!” The slender turtle stood up, recovered from his shock. “I _am_ interested. It'd be just as refreshing to have a sub in that position.”

 

Leonardo hid a smirk by sipping from his tea.

 

“Indeed. Well, the official election is next month. So you have three weeks to convince the city of you.”

 

The two secretaries shared a competitive grin. That was bound to become interesting. Leo put his cup down and stretched his arms above his head, letting out a breath.

 

“And since you need to become acquainted with the real work of a mayor, you both can take over some of it until the election.”

 

“W-What?”

 

“I'll be busy. We're gonna move back to our old house in The Heights, so I'm gonna be doing the urgent work from home and you can do the rest. Practice, so to say.”

 

“So we have to work and at the same time plan our election?” Nilo asked.

 

“Exactly. A taste of the work that's gonna be yours if you win.”

 

“Easy-peasy. I'm so gonna win.” Asinda grinned.

 

“Heh. I'm gonna divide the work you both can do between you so it's evenly difficult. And if you need something, just give me a call.”

 

 

~

 

 

“We're moving?” Ky asked, cerulean eyes impossibly wide, matching the expressions of his siblings.

 

The whole family had gathered for a “meeting” in the living room, where the adults had just shared the news.

 

“There's gonna be a new mayor next month, and he or she is gonna get to live in the mansion.” Leo explained as easy as he could. “So we're going to move back to our old house in The Heights.”

 

“We have an old house?” Aventurine asked with a frown on her cute face.

 

“Before your fafa became mayor, we lived in a different house, yes.” Don said with a smile.

 

“I remember a... a ballpit.” Amy tapped her chin in thought.

 

“Yes, you had a playroom with a ballpit.”

 

The twins _'oh'_ ed at that.

 

“It's smaller than the mansion, but you're still gonna have your own room each.”

 

“What about all my toys?”

 

“All your toys are coming with us.”

 

Nix made a face. “But I _like_ my room here...”

 

A chorus of “Me too!” followed.

 

Donatello smiled. Seemed like they'd have to reveal their surprise ideas – totally not bribery – sooner than expected.

 

“Actually we plan on making your _new_ rooms way better.”

 

Ever the critics, Nix and Amy leaned back in their seats with crossed arms. Ky was fortunately open to new ideas, and the twins were already easily convinced by the playroom.

 

Raph fought a grin at the skeptical collective on the couch while Mikey pulled a few papers from behind the armchair to spread them on the coffee table.

 

“Here.” Don knelt by the table, waiting for the kids to gather around him. “That's the top floor. We plan on building in skylights in the three bedrooms up there. For Nix, Amy and Cav to look at the stars at night.”

 

The idea seemed to melt their reluctance to nothingness. The image alone was a dealbreaker.

 

“What about Avy and I?” Ky asked, lips in a small pout.

 

Donnie pulled up the sheet for the first floor.

 

“So here's our bedroom, the bathroom here, and the room next to it is gonna be the new baby's. The next is gonna be our storage room.” The genius pointed at the rooms as he explained.

The storage room was a sole precaution in case Mikey was carrying multiples again. They'd need to be close to the babies.

 

“And then there's gonna be Avy's room. We're gonna paint the whole room with a special paint. Aventurine can draw on it however she likes and if she wants to, just wash it off again. Of course there's gonna be a big pack of new colors included.”

 

The youngest member of the family grinned widely, eyes shining at the fantasy of a completely new room, completely designed how she wanted it to.

 

“And the last room is gonna by Ky's.” Raph said. “We're gonna completely soundproof it, so you can play those drum-things as loud as you want without disturbing anyone.”

 

Kyanite frowned. “But I don't have any...” He trailed off at the smirks his parents wore. “No way! You're gonna get me a drum set?!”

 

“Well, the skylights are quite price-y. As are the special paints for Ave's room. So we thought it's just fair that you get something in the same price-range.”

 

Ky tried – and failed – to suppress a squeal. “THANK YOU!” He laughed, already imagining learning to play the instrument he's taken an interest in lately.

 

“That's not all, you guys.” Leo interrupted the happy chatter of plans.

“There's still some more news to share.”

 

The kids quieted down again, listening as Raph spoke up now.

 

“Starting from next week, I'm gonna start working part-time with uncle Bogen as a cop, while you are in school.”

 

“And I'm going to work less, also only when you're in school, starting well, tomorrow.” Don added, not able to stop smiling, especially at the way their children's faces lit up at the prospect of more time together.

 

“Once I'm not the mayor anymore, I will become the PE teacher at your school, so I'm gonna be with you practically all the time... so no getting into trouble again.”

 

Mikey leaned back in the armchair, arm over his still flat belly. He had no idea if he should share his news yet.

The kids had reacted quite well to the soon-to-be addition to their family. And they _had_ promised no secrets in their family. It's not like he could hide it much longer.

 

“I actually have work-related news, too.” He announced, quieting the room.

“Your other parents and I talked about me getting a part-time job too.” He started.

 

“Well, we briefly mentioned the possibility.” Don interrupted, a small frown on his face.

 

“But if you all work, who is gonna take care of our new brother or sister?” Nix asked, looking like an exact copy of Leo and Raph at the moment.

 

“Gosh calm down.” Mikey chuckled to make light of the situation. “I have it all worked out, actually.”

 

He traced patterns on the fabric of the armchair, rather concentrating on that than on his family's gazes on him.

 

“I'm gonna work from 4 pm to 10 pm. So I can take care of the baby while you're at work and in school.”

 

“But then we won't see you at all anymore!” Aventurine exclaimed, hazel eyes already getting wet.

 

“We're going to have breakfast together, as always, and I'll be here to eat late lunch with you when you get home from school. And I have to work Saturdays too, so there's one day per week I'll be home during schooldays. And we still have the Sundays.”

 

“Who's gonna read to us when we can't sleep?” Cav pouted.

 

“You have three very capable other parents that will read to you. And you'll be busy with homework and your hobbies anyways, you're probably not gonna notice me gone anyways.”

 

“No! I wanna have you here!” Ava sniffled and tackled him, climbing his lap and reluctantly moving enough so Cav had room too.

 

Mikey rolled his eyes with humor and hugged them close. The stern gazes of his mates meant there was a long talk ahead of him once the kids were in bed.

 

“It's fine... How about we see how it goes, and if it's really _that_ bad and you miss me _that_ much I'm gonna see if we can change things around.

 

There were a few seconds of silence. Mikey was already starting to regret ruining all the good news that evening. Seemed to him that all he could do was ruin things lately.

 

“My new boss is really nice, I don't think it's gonna be a problem if I switch the shifts around so I can be home more.”

 

He could ask Milla, his new - also pregnant - boss, if he could work full on Saturday and Sunday. The shop for architecture and re-decorating was closed on Sunday, but that didn't mean there wasn't enough to do behind the scenes.

That way he'd only been gone for two “schooldays”... of course that would mean he wouldn't be home on the weekend, but then they would be busy with their hobbies anyways and could spend more quality time with their dads.

 

“Til your new brother or sister is here I can work in the mornings too, and then we can see where to go from there.” Mikey offered, smiling at the nods from his kids.

 

Even the triplets, while reluctant, agreed to that.

 

Later, after he had brought the twins to bed, Michelangelo was seriously considering pretending to be asleep in one of their rooms just to get out of the conversation awaiting him.

 

Realizing he wouldn't be able to put it off for long anyways, he decided he could might as well get it over with.

 

So he steeled himself as he re-entered the living room, putting on an innocent expression to meet the stern gazes of his mates.

 

“Why haven't you talked to us before accepting a job?” Leo was the first to speak up.

 

“Lately you're doing that quite often. Acting without talking to us first.” Don said gently, hoping to not sound too accusing.

 

Mikey sighed and lowered himself on the couch. “I know, I'm sorry. But you would've tried to talk me out of it. As usual.”

 

“That's not fair. We said we'd figure it out a few days ago.”

 

“Then why are you pissed now?” Mike shrugged, a pout on his face. “The only difference is the lengthy conversation before accepting the job.”

 

“Are you hitting puberty again?” Leo frowned at the behavior of his youngest mate.

 

Don slapped his biceps for that before taking a seat next to Mikey.

 

“We don't even what kind of job it is. We don't mind you working, but while you're pregnant there are certain jobs that aren't good for you.”

 

“Like a cop, for example.” Raph threw in, arms crossed.

 

“I told you, I planned it all out. My boss is pregnant too, three months ahead of me.” Mikey explained.

“She runs that architecture office with the re-decoration shop just across town. She said I could work at the office for now, help her plan some houses and stuff, play secretary. And when the baby's there and I'm on my feet again I can help with the real work and re-decorate the rooms. Y'know, paint and stuff. So there's absolutely no risk while I'm pregnant.”

 

“Across town? That quite a walk.”

 

“It's not that hard. Only about half an hour.”

 

“It's gonna be hard when you're in the eighth month, for example.”

 

Mikey rolled his eyes. “See? That's why I didn't ask you beforehand. It doesn't matter what job I find, you'd find reasons to ruin it.”

 

“You could've looked for a secretary job _here_ , so we'd be near in case you need us.”

 

“Don't you think I tried? Nobody wants to employ a pregnant sub. Apparently they tend to quit the jobs after giving birth. Me saying that won't happen doesn't change their minds.”

 

“I'm sure there's some other job we could find for you. Maybe-”

 

“I don't want _some_ boring job just to have one. You all are allowed to do whatever you actually like to do, and I'm supposed to do what you pick for me? I don't think so.”

 

Michelangelo knew he should probably just give in. Or at least watch his mouth. But the word vomit kept coming and he couldn't stop it.

 

“Damn, what crawled up your ass?”

 

The pregnant turtle frowned down at the coffee table refusing to meet his mates' gazes.

 

“I'm just so sick of everyone trying to tell me what to do. It's my decision, I wanna do something I actually _like_ to do, not what you deem best or most convenient.”

 

“Well you wouldn't be in that situation if...” Leo cut himself off, sighing. He rubbed both hands over his face, seeming exhausted to no end.

 

The wound their argument from a few days ago was still raw, and while they had actually talked it out, it was still a sensitive topic.

 

Mike's mouth twisted, shoulders hunching up. “Yeah I know.” He took a deep breath.

He was a mother of five, soon six, for heaven's sake. He wasn't the baby of the family anymore, and he certainly wasn't some weak child to be looked after.

“Still. It is how it is. I'm going to work there, if you like it or not. I'll see to shift the hours however it works best for us and if it doesn't work out for whatever reason we'll see from there.”

 

His voice was firm, despite his inner turmoil.

 

Don put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.

 

“I think we should let him.”

 

“Not like you could stop me.” Mikey was inwardly slapping himself. There Donnie was, actually trying to help him and he couldn't stop being an ass.

 

“No, we can't if you're really set on this.” Donatello agreed, pursing his lips, appearing a tiny bit amused by his behavior.

“But we will find a way if it endangers your health or our baby's.”

 

“It's not gonna endanger any of us.” Mikey sighed and leaned against his genius brother, who pulled him closer by his shoulders. “But fine. If there's anything wrong I'll tell you.”

 

“Alright.” A gentle kiss to his temple calmed him down, quelling the urge to say mean things.

 

“Fine, we're gonna see how it goes.” Raph gave in, too, sitting on the coffee table in front of the younger turtles.

 

Leo closed his eyes, but sat down on the other side of Mikey.

 

“Can we at least talk about the hours? Maybe less hours in general, at least until the baby's here?”

 

Feeling mellow now that his mates wouldn't make any trouble concerning his job, Mikey squeezed Leo's hand.

 

“Okay.”

 

 

~

 

 

Mikey gasped inaudibly, covered in sweat as his senses tried to pull him back to reality.

The dream had shaken him quite hard.

 

He rubbed both hands over his face, tired yet unable to get back to sleep again.

Quietly he disentangled himself from his mates, grateful they were quite used to his fitful sleeping habits and stayed asleep.

 

It was around two in the morning, fortunately a Saturday so they wouldn't have to get up early.

They would get up sooner than usually on the weekends because they were quite busy preparing their old house, as it was a bunch of work, still.

 

His morning sickness had him feeling queasy, but not sick enough to throw up. So he sighed quietly and rubbed at his stomach as he left the master bedroom.

 

By the stairs he stopped when he heard a door opening. Sure enough, Aventurine and Cavansite, who apparently had been sleeping together again, appeared in the hallway.

 

They also stopped shortly when they saw Mikey, but quickly carried on and seeking comfort in his arms.

 

“What's wrong?” Mike asked as he rubbed the twins' heads.

 

“Nightmare.” Cav mumbled, snuggling into his mom's side.

 

Michelangelo could quite understand them. “Let's cuddle on the couch.” He offered, smiling softly when his kids grabbed a hand each and obediently walked downstairs with him.

 

“Why don't you two pick a movie to watch while I'm gonna make us some warm milk?”

 

“With honey?” Ava asked hopefully, rubbing her eye.

 

“Of course.”

 

He made quick work of lighting the fireplace and setting up a few blankets on the couch before making his way to the kitchen.

 

While it was April, it was still quite cold, and his twins were still quite sensitive to the cold.

 

As he waited for the milk to warm, he rubbed at his own arms. He had no idea what the kids had been dreaming but his own dream was still fresh on his mind.

 

He was so snappy lately, he couldn't help it. And in his dream, his mates had turned away from him because of that. Leo and Don had vanished back to New York with the others, while Raph had taken the kids away from him, and he was left all alone under some bridge.

 

Mikey knew that would never happen, as Casey and Co. had left a few days ago, still the fear of being abandoned lingered.

 

They had been right, lately he's made it quite a habit to act without talking to them. And he had no idea _why_.

He's been trying to pull himself together, but it was like he just couldn't control his mouth or his emotions. It was way too early for mood swings, but that was his only explanation.

 

Mike rubbed over his eyes and took the milk away from the stove, pouring three cups and putting honey in it. He brought the cups to the living room, smiling at the kids on the couch, snuggled into the blankets with a space in between them left for him, their choice of movie on the coffee table for him to put in.

 

After the milk was gone, the movie about a third over, Cav looked up at Mikey from where he was snuggled into his left side.

 

“You would never leave us, right?”

 

Ava mimicked the look of her twin brother. Mikey chuckled.

 

“Never. I'll always be with you.”

 

Easily calmed by that, the children snuggled more to him and sleepily continued to watch the movie.

Mikey's head dipped to the side against the cushions, calming himself with his own words.

 

His mates wouldn't just leave him. Just like he wouldn't leave his children. He just had to try a little harder, be nicer.

 

 

~

 

 

A little clank-ing sound woke him a few hours later. Someone had picked up the cups from the coffee table and turned off the TV.

 

The twins were still curled up to him, both still sleeping soundly.

 

A hand was rubbing his shoulder when he stirred, a kiss was pressed to his head, relaxing him enough to doze off again.

 

The next time he opened his eyes the children were gone. He was laying on his side, the blanket up over his shoulders. The news were running on low volume, and it took Mikey a few seconds to realize he wasn't alone on the couch.

 

Leo was by his side, watching the news with his typical skeptical expression.

 

Mikey hesitated a moment before scooting closer and snuggling up to him, using his thigh as a pillow.

A weight he hadn't known was there fell from his heart at the way Leo draped his arm over him, pulling him closer and lovingly rubbing his plastron.

 

“Love you...” Mikey mumbled sleepily, wondering what time it was.

 

“Love you too, baby.” He could hear the smile in the voice. “Couldn't sleep?”

 

“Mh. The twins had a nightmare.”

 

“I didn't even hear them come to us.” Leo said, drawing patterns on Mike's blanket-covered arm.

 

“I kinda met them in the hallway when I was getting something to drink. I...” He had no idea why he couldn't just admit that he's had a nightmare too.

He kinda felt that he had no right to whine about anything when it was in fact his own fault.

 

“I have no idea what woke _me_ up in first place. Maybe I sensed that they were having a nightmare.”

 

“Mh, maybe.”

 

“Where are the kids?” Mikey changed the topic before Leo could inquire further.

 

“Don is bathing the twins. And the triplets went with Raph to the bakery, they want to make breakfast today. They thought you weren't feeling well.”

 

“Well, that's partly true I guess.” Mikey rubbed his belly. “Stupid morning sickness.”

 

“At least you're not throwing up.” Leo tried to cheer him up with a chuckle.

 

“The day has barely started yet, give it a few more hours.” Mike stretched and rubbed over his eyes to wake up properly.

 

“If you're not feeling up to it, you could take a break today. Stay here, and we take the kids to work at the house.”

 

Michelangelo knew Leo was only being his overly protective self, only meaning the best. And yet, to his pregnant fucked up self, it sounded kind of accusing.

 

He swallowed down what he intended to say. “No no, I'm totally fine. I was barely done cleaning the cupboards yesterday. I intend on finishing the kitchen and the living room.”

 

“It's still a few weeks until the election and until we have to move out. It's not like it has to be done today. And it's not like we couldn't take over the cleaning too.”

 

Mikey sat up to stare at Leo. “You guys are busy with the skylights and preparing the other bedrooms, the least I can do is take over the cleaning.”

 

Leonardo rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “You're a stubborn little turtle. And you always say the kids got it from Raph and I.”

 

“Psh, you two are the definition of stubborn. Donnie and I are just...”

 

“Goal-orientated.” Don's voice finished for him, grinning as he flopped down next to Mikey.

 

“Oh yeah, team up against me.” Leo chuckled.

 

“Well if you insist...”

 

* * *

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will probably (for sure) regret posting this without proof-reading it, and all the more I'm gonna regret writing this instead of sleeping, but hey, I didn't want to keep you waiting for too long again. So here you go, the next chap.

* * *

 

There were so many reasons to be happy, Mikey mused as he was on his admittedly long way home from work.

 

For one, he found out that he was carrying one single little egg. It was quite a blessing to him, indeed. It was strenuous enough, and two or more babies were just _too_ much in his book.

 

Already in his second week after starting the job he started to question the decision to start working while he was pregnant. The way was kinda pretty far with how quickly he became exhausted, and it wasn't like there _wasn't_ any work to do at home either.

 

Still, he wouldn't take it back. He'd soldier through it, and it was quite satisfying to finally add to their income.

Not to mention that he didn't want to admit to his all-knowing mates that they've been right.

 

Secondly, everyone seemed to be happy. Like, _really_ happy. The kids had easily adapted to their new old house, loving the closeness to Elia and Lenara and their new modified rooms.

Raph quite enjoyed his new job as a cop, getting rid of any excess energy and having a reason to work out more again.

Don's reduced working time was doing wonders on his mood too. He loved spending the extra time with the children, especially with Amy and Cav's thirst for wisdom.

And Leo's bonding with the kids was a wonderful sight. Sure, they probably won't like having him around at school too, it could appear over-bearing, but right at the moment they enjoyed the closeness to the fullest.

 

The third reason to be happy was the sunny future ahead of them. They all kinda came clean on their inner thoughts and doubts and with all that out of the way they could work on their relationship and family life.

 

It was going so well, that Mikey wouldn't dare bringing up his minor problems, like his partly regret for taking the job so early. Or his annoying morning sickness. Or his guilt for risking a pregnancy without talking to his mates first... well.

 

He was trying to make it better, wasn't he? He wasn't complaining about anything, feeling he didn't have any right to. And there was still the lingering – irrational - fear of Leo running away.

 

Anyways, Michelangelo was doing a great job at hiding any discomfort or fear. Could be his pregnancy was the trigger for his feelings, and if so, it was his own fault.

 

It had become his mantra. His inner voice kept telling him _'It's your own fault'_ , and it was so convincing that he couldn't help but fully believe it.

 

Mikey gave a relieved sigh as their house came into view. Despite only being in his second month, and not even showing yet, his body wasn't quite up to date. His feet were killing him already, ankles swollen from apparently having “too much water”, whatever that meant.

The only thing Mikey's mind kept from Telon's explanation was that there wasn't much he could do aside from propping his feet up more. Only that he couldn't quite do that when he had work to do.

 

He was surprised to find the front door unlocked. Frowning, he entered carefully, relaxing immediately when Leo was just coming downstairs.

 

“Oh hey, you're already back.” The older turtle greeted him with a smile and a peck to the lips.

 

“I'm always back around that time. You're early today.” Mikey chuckled, nuzzling his mate.

 

“Mhm. I only did the bare minimum of work today. Both Nilo and Asinda outdid themselves.” He grinned. “It's gonna be a close call tomorrow, I really can't tell who will win.”

 

Ah yes, Mikey reminded himself, the election was going to be tomorrow. All the shops in the city were closed up for that day, and no school, meaning they could sleep in, since the announcement of the new mayor wouldn't be until 2 pm.

 

“I sure hope Nilo wins. It would be a nice change to be in charge after fifteen years of imprisonment.” The pregnant turtle commented as he made his way to the kitchen.

 

“The citizens could take that as a bad sign too. Just like they're still kinda wary of Asinda because of Voron.”

 

“Ugh. Why can't they believe that she had nothing to do with her mate's schemes?”

 

“Some do. It's gonna be an even ground for both of them.” Leo tilted his head as he watched Mikey work.

 

“You're already cooking?”

 

“Uh yes? Do you think the food appears magically when you get home from work?” Michelangelo chuckled. “Sides, since school's closer than it was at the mansion, the kids are home earlier now. They're gonna be hungry.”

 

“Let me get this straight, you,” he pointed at his mate, “work the whole day, walk the whole way home, go straight to cooking, then entertaining the kids and cleaning up, all without a single rest in between?”

 

Mikey rolled his eyes hard, barely managing to keep an annoyed groan in.

 

“I work _half_ a day, walk – _of course_ – the whole way home because what's the point in going half the way, and relax by cooking. Then I enjoy a nice meal with my family and actually have help cleaning up after. And you guys do good work entertaining the kids. So,”

He bopped Leo's plastron.

“Stop worrying.”

 

“And it's not exhausting you at all?” Leonardo folded his arms.

 

 _Trap! Trap! Trap!_ Mikey's inner voice screamed. Mimicking Leo's stance he held his gaze evenly.

 

“I thought we've been over that.” He evaded the question.

 

“The deal was that you'd quit as soon as it was becoming too much.”

 

“Exactly, and it's not too much. Quit being so over-bearing towards me, I know what I can handle.”

 

“So it _is_ exhausting you.”

 

Mikey pursed his lips. “Of course I'm a little more exhausted than I'd usually be. But that's completely normal, as you should know by now. And in about two months the exhaustion will be gone and I'll be rocket fuel for a while.” He sighed and turned around to resume cooking.

“Would you _please_ chill? I'm keeping my end of the deal, I'd appreciate if you'd do the same.”

 

“Not worrying was never part of the deal.” Leo mumbled, sounding like a pouting kid. It made Mikey chuckle.

 

“Hm. I was under the impression that you were trying to tell me to quit the job.”

 

“...” At Leo's silence, a triumphant smile edged its way on Mikey's face. He hid it by cutting up veggies for a stew.

 

“I'm just thinking-”

 

“Please Leo, I'm tired of having this conversation. I _know_ you guys wanted me to wait till _after_ I passed the egg, but I got the job _now_ and I won't quit it unless it's endangering me or the baby.”

 

Honestly, having this conversation at least three times a week was even more exhausting than his schedule.

 

Leo gave in then, the agitation in Mike's voice keeping him from continuing the discussion. He couldn't help the worry. The last pregnancy wasn't quite a walk in the park. And he _knew_ that this was different, but still.

 

He sighed and wrapped his arms around Mike's middle from behind, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

“You're right. I'm sorry.”

 

Michelangelo winced inwardly. He really had to keep an eye on his mouth. He was used to them worrying, he didn't want to be this way towards them. Especially when all they did was looking out for him.

 

So he relaxed back into Leo's hold, tempted to just lay down for a nap with him. He was sure his mate could feel his tense muscles, but was keeping from calling him out on it because he didn't want to provoke an argument.

 

Mikey knew him so well. He really needed to cut him some slack.

 

“You know what? I could really use a little break. Could you give Raph a call to pick up some take-out on his way home?”

 

“What about your stew?” Leo asked, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards as he reached for his shell cell.

 

“I can make it tomorrow. Right now a foot-rub would be heavenly.” He gave Leo a sweet smile, getting a kiss in return.

 

 

~

 

 

Being alone in complete darkness was quite a common nightmare.

 

Generally, the nightmares had lessened considerably when they had started their relationship and began sleeping in the same bed together.

 

There had been quite specific nightmares when Voron had meddled with their lives. Most of them, of course, concerning their children.

 

Since their latest argument, Mikey had started dreaming continuously about being left all alone. That his mates would abandon him, his kids hating him.

 

However, none of them had been so absolutely terrifying, like his current nightmare. It was weird, there wasn't even anything happening.

There was darkness all around, no horror vision or whatever.

 

But there was this gnawing feeling in his gut. His pounding heart was incredibly loud to him in the pressing silence. Something bad was going to happen. Bad, as in absolutely horrible.

He felt like a tiny mouse that was being preyed upon by a giant cat. He couldn't do anything, he couldn't scream. And then suddenly a large green hand reached for him.

 

Michelangelo bolted upright in bed with a frightened gasp, knuckles white where he gripped the sheets. He nearly jumped out of his shell when his shoulders were touched.

 

He gave let out a shuddering breath when he recognized Donatello's hands. The right one was pushing on his plastron, right where his heart drummed against it, while the left one was guiding his head by stroking over it, having it rest on the olive shoulder.

 

“Ssh... breathe with me.” The genius coached, and it was only then Mikey noticed he was barely getting air with how he was panting.

 

He slowly relaxed into the hold, soothed by the rubbing on his forehead and plastron.

Mikey let his mind wander to distract himself, noticing that Leo and Raph weren't in bed with them. The skylight was partly open, it was late morning.

 

“Must've been one hell of a nightmare, hm?” Don spoke up when his mate's breathing had normalized, his hands moving to circle his middle, gently resuming the rubbing at the flat belly.

 

“I can't even tell why it scared me so much.” Mike admitted, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

 

Donnie nuzzled his neck and shoulder, coming to rest his chin on it.

“Wanna talk about it?”

 

“It was just... dark. All around. And there was... this gut feeling. Like something bad is gonna happen.”

 

The genius was tempted to calm him by saying it was _just_ a dream, but one thing he learned in all those years was that you should never underestimate Mikey's gut feelings.

 

“Anything specific? I'd rather know what to prepare for.” He joked dryly. When Mike didn't even snicker, Donnie kissed his cheek and pulled him closer.

“We won't let anything happen to you or our kids, sweetheart.”

 

Michelangelo sighed, closing his eyes. “No, I know that. Just... it has me on edge. And the morning sickness has me all woozy too.”

 

Donnie leaned back against the pillows, pulling the younger turtle with him. The latter wiggled around so they were plastron to plastron, burying his face in Don's neck.

 

The fingers tracing his scutes with just the right amount of pressure had him sigh again.

 

“Maybe the pregnancy has me overly sensitive to those stupid nightmares. It's kinda different than with the twins or the triplets.” The pregnant turtle mused, relaxing in the hold.

 

“Mh. You seem quite aggressive compared to the other two times.” Don agreed silently, an amused expression on his face. He laughed when Mikey gave a light kick to his leg.

“Exhibit A.”

 

“Hardy har. That's not what I meant. Well... not exactly.” Mike mumbled. “I'm overall more edgy, sure. But the morning sickness is... not really stronger, but like, the whole day and never enough so I could actually throw up. For example.”

 

“The fact that you had the same bug as Nix and Leo while you were already pregnant could mean that our new baby is warm-blooded.”

 

“Tch, nice for a change.” Mikey chuckled, shaking his head. “I'll add a health-challenged infant to my list of worries.”

 

“Just because it's warm-blooded doesn't mean its health is challenged.”

 

“Nix got sick when he was a baby. It wasn't so bad cause he got Leo's strong immune system. You said so yourself. What if he or she has my fucked up sensitivity?”

 

Donatello was quiet for a few moments. It was kinda true. Their cold-blooded children had taken a lot of worry off them. Nix had rarely been sick in his very young years, and the twins just had to be kept warmer during the colder months.

 

They never had to worry about too deep and persistent coughs, or too high fevers with their children.

 

“We managed your bouts of sickness, the baby is gonna be fine. Though it's probably going to hit you a few more times too. You know how it was with Nix. I'm gonna make enough medicine to last for a while, just in case.”

 

“... Yeah. But not just suppositories.” Mikey commented with a dead-serious voice, getting a good laugh out of Donatello.

 

 

~

 

 

Mikey couldn't remember the last time he felt so... klutzy. After getting up and having breakfast with his family, he had tried to do the dishes.

The dishtowel had ended up in the trash bin because he's been so confused. The frying pan was found on the towel rack by a very amused Raphael.

 

In the end, around lunch time, they had just banned him on the couch to watch a kids movie with the twins. Donnie and Nix volunteered to make a pizza for lunch, the kid having the time of his life being the 'boss' in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Raph and Leo were cleaning up the rest of the house with Nix and Amy.

The triplets were quite eager to help best they could, wanting their mother to relax so their new baby brother or sister would be okay too.

 

Mikey spaced out while the movie ran, thoughts going back to his nightmare. What could it mean? Why couldn't his dream be more specific, so he could actually be warned instead of just scared out of his shell?

 

Maybe it had to do with today's election. That was basically the only difference to the other days. But then again, what bad could happen?

 

Nilo and Asinda were both good turtles. Both of them made promises, and opposite to the human world, the turtles were obligated to keep their voting promises.

So there wasn't gonna be a horrible change of their lives. Still.

 

“Mom? Is it gonna be long until our baby is here?” Cav asked, curiously eyeing the flat stomach.

 

Mike chuckled at the wording and stroked a hand over his youngest son's head.

“Quite a while, yeah. It's reeeeaally tiny at the moment and needs to grow some more.”

 

“Lenara said that uncle Kion said that a baby hurts.” Cav and Ava gave twin pouts. “We don't want it to hurt you.”

 

Michelangelo really had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud. “It only hurts when it's ready to come out.” He tried to explain as simple as he could.

“Because he or she is growing almost as big as Taro is now, and they have to get out somehow.”

 

“How does it come out? Are you gonna spit it out?”

 

Inwardly facepalming at setting himself up to that question, he shook his head with a smile.

 

“You're still a little too young for that, sweetie. When you're older Papa is gonna explain it to you.”

 

Giving a shrug to that, Aventurine played with her bracelet. She perked up.

 

“Is the baby gonna get one too?” She asked, shaking her arm. Mikey chuckled.

 

“We haven't really talked about names yet, but probably, yes.”

 

Cavansite gave a cute gasp, sitting up on his knees and his wide midnight blue eyes fixated on Mikey.

 

“Can we pick a name?!”

 

“You can take a look at the book when your other parents finally unpack the rest of the boxes.”

 

Ava mimicked her brother's pose on Mike's other side, hazel eyes shining with excitement.

 

“We can look for it!”

 

The image of the two five-year-olds making a mess out of the storage room made Mikey cringe.

 

“You know what, I'm gonna help you. I don't want fafa to get a stroke when you mess up his so-called 'order'.”

 

In reality, it was quite a mess already. They had basically just thrown every box they hadn't unpacked yet in there. It contained mostly books and old toys. Mikey couldn't help but smile at the old hexagonal crib that had been taken apart for easier moving, currently leaning on the wall next to the door. Soon they would have use for it again.

 

Carefully steering the twins to the boxes with the books, away from the old toys so they wouldn't throw it all around, he knelt to the ground and opened the closest box.

 

“Oh look, it's your scrapbooks!” Mike grinned at the sight of the books. He took all of them out, getting distracted by the pictures inside.

 

“Ky was so tiny!” Ava giggled.

 

“All of you were so tiny. Your new brother or sister will be, too.”

 

“What is this white stuff?” Cav asked, tilting his head at a picture of little Amy and Nix in the snow.

 

“It's called snow. It's there when it's really really cold in winter. We haven't had any in years.” He explained.

 

“Is the baby gonna get a book too?” Mikey smiled, rubbing at his not-quite-there baby bulge.

 

“Sure. Tell you what, you can even decorate the cover if you want to.”

 

Ava grinned widely. “Can I use glitter?”

 

“All the glitter you want.”

 

“I'm gonna learn to read, and then I will read stories to it!” Cav exclaimed excitedly, little tail wiggling as he pulled a baby book out of the box.

 

“I'm sure he or she is gonna like that very much.” Shell, why were all his kids so damn cute?

“We have to hurry finding the book, though. Lunch is gonna be done soon and after that we have to go to city hall for the election ceremony.”

 

He opened another box, triumphantly pulling out the book about gems. “There you go.”

 

With the book in tow, they settled down on the couch in the living room again.

 

“What are you doing?” Kyanite asked, he and Amy joining them a few moments later.

 

“We're gonna pick a name for the baby!”

 

“Hey, why can they choose? I wanna choose!” Amy frowned deeply, crossing her arms.

 

“You chose Avy's name.” Mikey smiled. “Besides, we all have to like the name, so we all get a say in it.” He pacified.

“You can all pick a few you like, and then we can vote.”

 

Feeling pacified by that, Amy scooted closer to look over her little sister's shoulder at the book.

 

“I'm gonna get Nix.” Ky announced, eagerly running off to get his brother so he could have a look too.

 

 

~

 

 

As the current mayor, Leo had the honor of announcing the winner after the trial members had counted the votes.

 

Ava and Cav were wiggling excitedly where they sat on Raph's shoulders, their dad rolling his eyes with good humor as he made sure they wouldn't fall.

Telon was in a similar predicament with Lenara on his shoulders, while Bogen was cuddling a sleepy Taro.

 

The triplets were satisfied standing in the front row just a few feet away from their other parents, proudly talking to Elia about their ideas for the baby's name as they waited for the announcement.

 

“I hope Nilo wins. Telon and I have a bet going.”

 

“Another bet? Shell, you two are weirdly competitive.” Don chuckled.

 

“Oh please. We're nowhere near as bad as Leo and Raph.” Kion stuck out his tongue.

 

While they bickered, Mikey was quietly watching the stage, the gnawing feeling was back. His bottom lip was already raw from biting it so much. He made sure to keep a close eye on the children at the front row.

 

“Alright. The trial has counted all the votes. Our new mayor's name is written here!” Leonardo's voice silenced the crowd's chatter. His good mood was such a sweet sight.

 

Asinda and Nilo were standing next to him, both trying to not appear too nervous. Seriously, they both did an awesome job, and would keep on doing so.

 

Leo opened the envelope slowly, building up the suspense. His poker face didn't show anything when his eyes flicked over the name on the card inside.

 

“Our new mayor is... Asinda!”

 

There was loud cheering from the crowd, some of them _Aw_ -ing in disappointment, but overall it was a pleasant vibe.

 

Nilo groaned with good humor, but hugged Asinda after Leo had shaken her hand to congratulate her.

 

Mikey laughed at Kion's disappointment, consoling him by patting his shell. His laughter died down slowly a few moments after.

 

He felt his heart jump up to his throat, swallowing hard at the fear gripping him again. His kids were still alright and there, jumping up and down as they cheered with the crowd, now back by their sides.

Were they being watched? He felt as if...

 

Asinda stepped up to the microphone, thanking everyone and grinning widely.

 

Why did he feel so off? Mikey tried to keep his breathing under control. Where did this feeling come from? The crowd's cheers were deafening, only white noise in his ears, like static.

 

The new mayor's voice was clear though as she spoke. Vowing to keep her promises and so on.

 

He felt Don's hand on his shoulder as his mate talked to him, concern displaying on his face. The lips were moving, but Mikey only had ears for Asinda's speech, watching her with wide eyes.

 

“... And five years passed so fast...” He heard her say, the drum of his heart almost loud enough to drown out her voice.

 

“... bet our rabbit friends and their rebel group would agree with me that being forced to hide is as bad as sitting in a prison cell, isn't that right?”

 

Nilo's face twisted a little, though he tried to keep the good mood up. Usagi, who was standing by the side of the pedestal was eyeing Asinda wearily now, while the rest of the crowd, along with the former rebels, laughed and agreed, thinking it was leading up to something great and funny.

 

The grin was slowly vanishing from Leo's face. He wasn't sure he liked where this was going. His eyes flitted over to his mates for a second, catching Mikey's expression and frowning.

 

“I knew you all would see it that way. And you see, Voron's sentence was five years in prison. He had to live in hiding, apart from his family, all those years. So since we just established that it equals prison, I say he's served his sentence.”

 

Mikey felt his knees grow weak at that announcement, leaning heavily against Donatello, who was staring disbelievingly at the pedestal.

 

The crowd was having mixed feelings, there was overall a lot of confusion.

 

Leo shook his head. “Asinda... you can't just-”

 

“I can. I can't revoke the trial's decision, but I can decide how the punishment is served.”

 

His mouth felt dry all of a sudden. “He's run away, if you helped him, you-”

 

“Please, Leonardo, I wouldn't help a convicted criminal to escape, let alone keep him hidden. I won't be so dumb to let a stupid formality take my rightfully earned title away from me.” She smiled.

“However, he contacted me a while ago. I didn't know where he is hiding exactly, or I would've done my duty and report him.”

 

“You know what he did.” Leo spoke in a quieter voice now. “You said he was a bastard that deserved his punishment.”

 

“He's my mate, Leo. Everybody makes mistakes. If one of your mates would make a mistake, would you abandon them forever?”

 

Leo didn't know what to say. In a way, he could even understand her. But Voron had endangered his family on more than one occasion, and now he was supposed to be free?

 

“Look, I know what you think. But if he had been in prison, he would be free now either way. I think he really has changed. I'll make sure he doesn't bother you. I just want my mate by my site again.”

 

The dark eyes of her seemed so honest. Leo felt conflicted to no end. Was her naivety real? Did Voron manipulate her again? And why didn't Reno talk her out of it?

 

In the end, Leo was helpless anyway. She was right. She had evaded breaking any rule, and after practically the whole city agreeing with her reasoning, there wasn't anything they could do.

 

He and Nilo shared a worried stare. What would he tell her to do? Would she listen to every scheme he told her?

There wouldn't be anyone banned from the city or anything, the trial made sure of that, so that was a worry less.

 

But the possibility of having his family targeted again was not sitting well with Leo at all. They needed to get home. He couldn't see Mikey or Donnie anymore, but Raph was standing little ways off, close to the park.

 

“If he hurts any of my friends, and most importantly my family, he's dead.” Was Leo's cold promise before he left the stage, squeezing through the crowd to get to his family.

 

He needed to get them home. They needed to discuss their next steps. Precautions and so on.

 

“Fafa! What's going on?” Nix asked with a frown, worriedly rubbing Mikey's shoulder.

 

The pregnant turtle was sitting down on some bench, staring ahead with a hand covering his mouth. Don was on his other side, talking soothingly to him.

He and Raph wore similar expressions.

 

Telon and the others were talking among themselves, debating whether there was gonna be a problem or not.

 

When Leo didn't answer, Nix turned to Donatello. “Papa, you promised! If something big was going on you'd tell us.”

 

The genius sighed, Mikey wasn't responding to him. “I _know_ , Nix.” He caught Leo's and Raph's gazes. “Let's get home to talk about it.”

 

The leader nodded and knelt down in front of Mikey, worried at the distant look in the unusually dull eyes.

 

Raph took the cue and went to tell Kion and Co. that they were leaving, the twins still on his shoulders.

 

“Baby, it's gonna be okay.”

 

Michelangelo gave his oldest mate a broken and bitter look. “We both know that's not true.”

He was bravely trying to keep it together. The last thing he wanted was to break down crying in front of his children.

 

“Hey.” Leo's hand on his chin made him look directly at him. “I won't even let him _look_ at you or our children. And if he makes one wrong move-” he caught himself, mindful of his kids in earshot, “-there's gonna be severe consequences.”

 

Mikey's chin trembled, a single tear escaping his eyes. He wiped furiously at his own face, giving a mix between a sob and a laugh when the triplets circled him in a group hug, each of them worried for his well-being.

 

“I don't know what's going on, but we will protect you too!” Amy announced with fire in her mahagony eyes.

 

“Nobody's gonna hurt our family!” Nix agreed.

 

“I know... my little fighting machines.” Mikey chuckled, trying to be positive for the kids.

 

Leo gently wiped a stray tear from his mate's freckled cheek, giving him a reassuring smile.

 

“Are you good to walk? Or do you want me to carry you?”

 

Mikey actually pondered over that offer. That pressuring fright still wasn't completely gone, and the cheering crowd all around them was making his head swim and his heart ache.

Of course they couldn't know how the news affected them. What Voron meant to them.

 

“Would you?” He asked, the children immediately catching on and letting go of him so Leo could pick him up easily.

 

Ky and Amy went ahead to walk next to Raph, occasionally glancing back at them and talking to the twins to distract and reassure them, while Nix walked between Donnie and Leo.

 

He really had no idea what exactly was going on since he's been too young to remember, but that Voron guy meant bad news. That much had he gathered. And he swore to himself that he would help protect his family at all cost.

 

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuun. Voron's back, b*tches! Things are going to get way more interesting now!  
> By the bye, I'm taking votes. It's gonna be one single baby for sure, but: Do you want the baby to be a Boy or a Girl?


End file.
